Big storm on Saturn |
Big storm on Saturn |
Dec 15 2010, 12:37 AM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 706 Joined: 3-December 04 From: Boulder, Colorado, USA Member No.: 117 |
The solar system is a happening place this week! I just learned of a major storm in Saturn's northern hemisphere, being monitored by the usual band of talented amateurs. See this site for a list of recent images. Chris Go's site has a particularly nice image.
John |
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Dec 15 2010, 03:58 AM
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#2
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
That's a big 'un! Is Cassini in any kind of a position (both orbitally & in terms of planning flexibility) to snap a few close-ups?
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Dec 15 2010, 08:34 AM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3242 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
Of course it is in a position, but always remember, Cassini observations are planned months in advance and changes in the observation plan almost never happen (trust me, we tried). Near the end of Rev142, there are a couple of quick imaging opportunities with the WAC but nothing extensive. The storm should be visible during the December 24 observation. The next orbit, Rev143 has many more Saturn observations, so hopefully the storm will stick around till then.
-------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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Dec 16 2010, 06:55 PM
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#4
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1592 Joined: 14-October 05 From: Vermont Member No.: 530 |
I hate to ask this question, but I'm really curious. If Cassini had a scan platform, would on-demand retargeting be a lot more feasible? I'm thinking, yes, we'd simply be trading off imaging vs. imaging, not imaging vs. the whole suite. But I don't know enough about the sequencing. Would a spacecraft with a scan platform have a separate sequence for the scan platform that could be modified by itself?
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Dec 16 2010, 07:31 PM
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#5
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Member Group: Members Posts: 648 Joined: 9-May 05 From: Subotica Member No.: 384 |
Maybe Hubble Space Telescope can snap some nice image of this BIG NEW STORM.
Does any member of UMSF knows somebody in Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)? -------------------- The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.
Jules H. Poincare My "Astrophotos" gallery on flickr... |
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Dec 16 2010, 11:56 PM
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 706 Joined: 3-December 04 From: Boulder, Colorado, USA Member No.: 117 |
I hate to ask this question, but I'm really curious. If Cassini had a scan platform, would on-demand retargeting be a lot more feasible? It would certainly be simpler, but nothing in spacecraft operations is simple. There would still be numerous issues to be resolved- what pre-planned observations would be displaced, where would the data be put and when would they be downloaded, thermal implications of the new scan platform orientation would have to be checked, and new command sequences would have to be developed and tested. The Mars Rovers are always responding to new information on ~24 hour timescales, but they and their operations are designed from the ground up to be able to do that. Orbital missions are never that flexible. John |
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Dec 17 2010, 06:30 AM
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#7
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Lord Of The Uranian Rings Group: Members Posts: 798 Joined: 18-July 05 From: Plymouth, UK Member No.: 437 |
This seems to be a re-occurring phenomenon on Saturn - remember the large equatorial outbreak of 1990?
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/r...s/1991/1991/04/ Of course, English actor and comedian Will Hay is famous for (probably) being the first astronomer to observe one of these white spots, back in 1933: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Hay#Private_life -------------------- |
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Dec 25 2010, 12:13 AM
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#8
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 2785 Joined: 10-November 06 From: Pasadena, CA Member No.: 1345 |
Nice shot of Saturn storm taken by Cassini (props to VP): http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/imag...5/W00065990.jpg
Using the Solar System calculator to get the actual time of observation (caption indicated 1.323 M km away) sets it at 12/22/2010 23:40 UTC. This observation seemed like it would be nicely centered on Saturn's sunlight hemisphere and thus nicely visible from Earth. Using a rotation rate of 10:47 h for Saturn, and propagating forward, here is an EXCEL table observation times where the storm should be centered on Saturn's visible disk on Earth. (Times are UTC and EST). Saturn rises around 3 AM and is better viewed closer to morning as it rises higher in the pre-dawn sky. I put "XXX" for view times where the storm is likely to be best. (Hopefully I got all the calculations right): Saturn_Storm_spotting_from_Earth__Dec_22_2010___Jan_4_2011_.xls ( 23.5K ) Number of downloads: 726 -------------------- Some higher resolution images available at my photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31678681@N07/
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Dec 25 2010, 02:19 PM
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#9
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Lord Of The Uranian Rings Group: Members Posts: 798 Joined: 18-July 05 From: Plymouth, UK Member No.: 437 |
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Dec 25 2010, 06:30 PM
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#10
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2173 Joined: 28-December 04 From: Florida, USA Member No.: 132 |
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Dec 25 2010, 06:46 PM
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#11
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
1. Wow. Look at that churned atmosphere! Remarkable.
2. Dude, Santa is like totally ripping that peak! Merry Christmas, all. -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Dec 25 2010, 10:28 PM
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#12
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Member Group: Members Posts: 316 Joined: 1-October 06 Member No.: 1206 |
Wow. It looks a *little* bit like Karman vortex street. I wonder what its 'downwind' of
P |
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Dec 27 2010, 04:14 PM
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#13
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3242 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
Images from December 24 are hitting the ground and the pages for them are on the JPL raw images page:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/rawi...?imageID=230977 Enjoy! Even more dramatic in the BL1 filter: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/rawi...?imageID=230973 -------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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Dec 27 2010, 04:40 PM
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#14
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
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Dec 27 2010, 05:41 PM
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#15
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
My quick version using CB2/GRN/BL1:
EDIT: Ugh, that'll teach me to do color composites on a laptop screen... Image replaced with an improved version. I didn't want to use CB2 as full resolution luminance as the storm contrast is quite different from the visible channels, especially in the tail. Too bad it wasn't the GRN that was full res. -------------------- |
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