I've just noticed that the tour highlights for (all of) 2010 have now been posted on the Cassini website.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/saturntourdates/

en exciting year!

the list neglect to mention the first close pass of Mimas (and Herschel) on Feb 13, and several other close satellite passes as well.

Talking of the Cassini website I would expect following past precedent that there would be a CHARM presentation tomorrow. The powerpoints for these are usually posted a few days in advance but nothing has appeared so far. Anyone know if there is to be a CHARM this week and if so what it's about?

Very exciting, although I'm surprised February's Mimas flyby isn't mentioned.

Did you notice the two Enceladus flybys on Nov. 30 and Dec. 21 at 51 km!! (drool, drool)

51km?!?!?! Wow, what a Christmas present that promises to be...! Will the images be pin-sharp as the last ones, or will that low altitude mean a lot of smearing?

Isn't the illumination fading too... but I trust the team will deliver, ooh, say, another set of images to go down in history...

I would assume that at C/A during such a close flyby it be the fields and particles instruments in control of the spacecraft, scooping up plume stuff, but I don't know for sure. Enceladus flybys are so fast.

There's plenty of illumination on everything but the south pole; at south pole (if, in fact, these flybys give them a view of the south pole), it'll actually be interesting to see the thermal emission from the vents without direct sunlight interfering.

51 km? Bah, we've gone lower than that ;-)

Paul, the Mimas flyby probably wasn't mentioned because the C/A altitude was above some cut-off or something. Needless to say, plenty of images are planned...

And there's the answer now: "Cassini's Auroral Observing Program".

wasnt complaining about Mimas, just noting for others. the list includes two passes at 50000 km and mimas is a lot closer (4000km i think) so it must have been an oversite. just so long as they dont forget to take pix!

seeing the floor of Hershcel at hi res will hopefully be worth the wait. all indications are that it is not an old crater.

Of course, one has to remember that those low-altitude flybys will happen during XXM, which, if I'm not mistaking, isn't officially approved yet.

January CHARM PDF presentations are now available.
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/video/products/...aProductsCharm/