Topic: news on Titan

[remcook]

I thought I'd better make a new thread about the results in the science forum about news on Titan.

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=14035

http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-2004/pr-09-04.html

I was at a conference about Titan and the Huygens mission last thursday and friday and they showed these new stuff. THey also showed imaged of saturn from most of the instruments onboard CAssini. Only 2.5 months!! and the Phoebe flyby even sooner!

Orstio - if I have time, I'll try to write a little piece, but I can't promise anything (busy times ...)

[remcook]

cassini spies titan:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgibin/gs2.cgi?path=../multimedia/images/large-moons/images/PIA05390.jpg&type=image

[remcook]

conference proceedings:

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=35018

[remcook]

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgibin/gs2.cgi?path=../multimedia/images/large-moons/images/PIA05404.jpg&type=image

a new view from cassini

[remcook]

A University of Arizona astronomer and his collaborators are using a novel camera to hunt for extrasolar planets.

Their camera has already made stunning images of Saturn's moon, Titan, and discovered an object just 27 times the mass of Jupiter. They hope the camera will be the first to directly photograph faint gas-giants similar to Jupiter in solar systems beyond our own.

http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/wa/SRStoryDetails?ArticleID=9288

[Thinker]

Wow!

Might be able to add a whole new slew of extra-solar planets to the list in a few years time...

[Orstio]

A closer pic from Cassini:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2004-162

[remcook]

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gs2.cgi?path=../multimedia/images/large-moons/images/PIA06081.jpg&type=image

colour picture of Titan  :)

[Orstio]

A more detailed surface map:

http://ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/view.php?id=214

[remcook]

lots of raw Titan images available now. some strange features

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/raw-images-details.cfm?feiImageID=6979


http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/raw-images-details.cfm?feiImageID=6913

[Astronuc]

Those pictures of Titan look fuzzy or blurry - is that because they are out of focus, or is that the atmosphere is just cloudy - hazy.  I imagine it would be hard to focus on a very hazy atmosphere?

In feiImageID=6979, it looks like some clouds in focus in the upper left, but the rest of the atmosphere seems featureless.

And why will it take until next year (2005) to post validated/calibrated pictures?

[remcook]

I think the first one mostly has to do with the haze.
I actually don't know how and if the camera focusses. Will try to look it up.

The year difference is because that's the policy. Probably has to do with protection for scientists. Hubble also has this one year wait before they make it public.

[remcook]

some info on ISS:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/instruments-cassini-iss.cfm

I think all spaceborne cameras are passive and due to the large distances you don't need to focus. But I don't know anything about optics. Rxke?

[Astronuc]

That far way (~350,000 km) the focus would more or less be at infinite.  That might work for a typical SLR, but I have some binoculars that are sensitive so that I can go in and out of focus when looking at the moon.

It all depends and the primary and secondary lenses - shape (radius of curvatures) and distance between them (and focal points).

I have a digital camera with autofocus that sometimes has trouble when something is featureless or when the light or contrast is too low.  I imagine they could use radar or laser range finder, but that may not be part of the camera control.

[remcook]

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia06406.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia06407.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia06404.html
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia06405.html