[X] My Assistant

[Decepticon]

Nov. 2005 - 416,000 km - 2.5 km/pixel - eastern and central Cassini Region, northern bright terrain

http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/wspace?t...porbs=1&brite=1

Buy this weekend (Nov 4,05) we will be getting some great views of Iapetus. Comparable to these images. http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=624

And buy Nov 11 will be within 417,000 km

I can't wait to see these images. 

I hope we get some approch images soon.

[Decepticon]

Raw Images have started. http://saturn1.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/ima...5/N00042490.jpg

[tedstryk]

Raw Images have started. http://saturn1.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/ima...5/N00042490.jpg

Yes, but the angles and illumination are a bit different. Which, as far as making nice pictures to look at, is very exciting.

[scalbers]

Yes, but the angles and illumination are a bit different.  Which, as far as making nice pictures to look at, is very exciting.

Nice to see the entire eastern edge of Cassini Regio in context. This is higher in resolution (~75%) than some of the previous imagery that I've used (e.g. PIA06100) and thus ought to be able to add some addtional details into my map. It also has a higher phase angle with more shadows to give contrast.

For comparison, my map with the previous imagery is at http://laps.fsl.noaa.gov/albers/sos/sos.html#IAPETUS

[JRehling]

Nice to see the entire eastern edge of Cassini Regio in context. This is higher in resolution (~75%) than some of the previous imagery that I've used (e.g. PIA06100) and thus ought to be able to add some addtional details into my map. It also has a higher phase angle with more shadows to give contrast.

For comparison, my map with the previous imagery is at http://laps.fsl.noaa.gov/albers/sos/sos.html#IAPETUS

It is interesting to see the white, vaguely peninsular, intrusion into eastern Cassini Regio. It is possibly similar to the white mountains that stick up out of western Cassini Regio. In both cases, it seems to be a continuation of the equatorial ridge, but broken in the western case, and at both ends of Cassini, bright instead of dark. Getting a better look at the "black eye" crater east of Cassini is also turning up some clues -- the identification of a central peak is new. More significant, it seems as though the darkening is, to the west of that crater, on the OUTSIDE of the rim, not the inside. If the dark stuff was blasted ballistically, this is a key distinction: was it landing on eastern Cassini Regio from the east, or from the west? If it came from the east, then likely all of Cassini Regio was laid out from east to west. If it came from the west, then likely all of Cassini Regio was emplaced from the inside (and/or above) OUT. What we don't get to see on this encounter are the craters to the east of that one, which are smaller and also have darkened rims. Whether the three rims were darkened west to east or vice versa, then we have a new significant clue regarding the creation of Cassini Regio. But we don't find out anything more until later.