Recent findings from NASA’s Cassini mission reveal that Saturn’s geyser moon Enceladus provides a special laboratory for watching unusual behavior of plasma, or hot ionized gas. In these recent findings, some Cassini scientists think they have observed “dusty plasma,” a condition theorized but not previously observed on site, near Enceladus. This image is a [continue reading]
Cassini flew by Enceladus at an altitude of about 46 miles (74 kilometers). This flyby was designed primarily for the ion and neutral mass spectrometer to analyze, or “taste,” the composition of the moon’s south polar plume as the spacecraft flew through it. This image of Enceladus was taken by Cassini on April 14, 2012, [continue reading]
There’s a tiny moon orbiting beyond Saturn’s rings that’s full of promise, and maybe — just maybe — microbes. In a series of tantalizingly close flybys to the moon, named “Enceladus”, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has revealed watery jets erupting from what may be a vast underground sea. These jets, which spew through cracks in the [continue reading]
Since the NASA / ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft arrived at Saturn in 2004, astronomers and space scientists have been able to study the ringed planet and its moons in great detail. Now, for the first time, a team of planetary scientists have made simultaneous measurements of Saturn’s nightside aurora, magnetic field, and associated charged particles. Together [continue reading]
The Cassini space probe will dive into the narrow gap between Saturn’s atmosphere and its innermost ring for the final leg of its mission in 2016. Cassini will carry out a series of “proximal orbits” between Saturn and its innermost ring Cassini has been orbiting Saturn from a distance – outside the ring system. The [continue reading]