Kevin's Watch

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5333700/

Knowlege is power and exploring the universe around us will always grant us advancements in our understanding of our world and ultimately ourselves. That we have taken interplanetary exploration to this level is fascinating to me. I look forward to the deluge of awe inspiring pictures and new information that will be gathered by Cassini and transmitted back to our eager eyes. I find the "gas giants" of solar system particularly interesting.

I read this on the news today, very interesting. They think they'll be able to understand how the Universe, or at the solar system was made by these rings. I think this is a little far-fetched and optimistic. But that's me.

I do think that Saturn is absolutely beautiful. An amazing sight for any eyes. I used to be very into space. And read about it a lot... and I love these close ups.

It's quite an acomplishment, sending a spacecraft on a journey of 2 billion miles, and sending it precisely through a thin gap in Saturn's rings.

Darth Revan wrote: I think this is a little far-fetched and optimistic.

I'm suprised to know you think that, Rev. After all the stunning information the study of space had given us (and frequently from places and objects we never considered to be the source of such data) I am not just hopefull but actually expecting a new, more complex theory about the formation of our solar system to emerge. However I respect your opinion. You may after all be correct.

I doubt it.

This is wonderful stuff! For me, astronomy is at the heart of the "romance" of science, as Carl Sagan put it. The Voyager spacecraft gave us the grand tour of the outer gas giants. Now Cassini gives us the hard science behind one of those giants.

It's amazing and a testament to human engineering that we can instruct a vessel which is 1.4 billion km distant from us, and instruct it to perform a tricky maneuver through Saturn's rings no less! All that because we are able to make use of laws of motion set down by Newton 200 or so years ago. It would be a shame if people today were too jaded and weary to appreciate that kind of achievement.

Maybe we take this sort of thing for granted now. After being spoiled by years of glitzy Hollywood visual effects, I wonder if a lot of us feel underwhelmed by missions like Cassini and the Mars rovers. But this isn't sloppy Hollywood science, it's the real deal.

TOM C wrote:www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5333700/

Knowlege is power and exploring the universe around us will always grant us advancements in our understanding of our world and ultimately ourselves. That we have taken interplanetary exploration to this level is fascinating to me. I look forward to the deluge of awe inspiring pictures and new information that will be gathered by Cassini and transmitted back to our eager eyes. I find the "gas giants" of solar system particularly interesting.

I have a 4.5 inch Newtonian Telescope. My favourite objects to look at in the night sky were Jupiter and Saturn. Saturn is simply beautiful. I have been looking forward to Cassini arriving at Saturn for a long time now. When the probe ventures into Titan I will be very very excited.

A couple of cool sites here with images of Saturn and Titan and also developments on the Cassini-Huygens Mission.

ciclops.lpl.arizona.edu/
This one is cool.... kind of like a diary of the mission.


This site has a lot more detailed info....
saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm

Personally I hope they get the mission to Pluto off the ground...they were going to can it but I havent heard one way or the other whether or not they are still going through with it.

I probably wont be around by the time the mission comes to fruition tho

Ur-Vile wrote: I have a 4.5 inch Newtonian Telescope. My favourite objects to look at in the night sky were Jupiter and Saturn. Saturn is simply beautiful. I have been looking forward to Cassini arriving at Saturn for a long time now. When the probe ventures into Titan I will be very very excited.

Very cool, UV. I've always wanted to take up astronomy. Nothing must compare to actually viewing Saturn with your own eyes. I am very envious.

I had a very cool Telescope Ur-Vile. Used to be very into space. Got loads of books on it as well... Then my Telescope was utterly destroyed, and books gone.

Yeah, I did find this interesting... Saturn in the most beautiful planet in the Solar System in my opinion. An amazing sight. Your probably right though TOM C... it might give us new insights... but don't get your hopes up... I've actually always wondered where the rings about Saturn came from... I assumed (From the amount of moons it has) that a few moons might have crashed into one another.

Sorry to hear about your scope, Rev. I don't know what is worse having a great telescope and losing it or neve having one at all. I will own one as soon as I stop spending all my extra money on comics and music equipment. By the way Rev. I get and keep my hopes up because otherwize I couldn't get through the day without a perpetual frown on my face.

TOM C wrote:

Ur-Vile wrote: I have a 4.5 inch Newtonian Telescope. My favourite objects to look at in the night sky were Jupiter and Saturn. Saturn is simply beautiful. I have been looking forward to Cassini arriving at Saturn for a long time now. When the probe ventures into Titan I will be very very excited.

Very cool, UV. I've always wanted to take up astronomy. Nothing must compare to actually viewing Saturn with your own eyes. I am very envious.

Ditto. I am envious. I have taken numerous astronomy courses, and would love to own my own. The saturn pics are a joy to behold. ANd I can't wait to see the sectrets that Titan reveals.

HAs anyone read 2010? I love Clarke's vision of Europa.

Yes, Clarke makes a compelling case for Europa in 2010. I hope Clarke will hang around for the Titan probe.

(I'm assuming he's still alive...)

TOM C wrote:Sorry to hear about your scope, Rev. I don't know what is worse having a great telescope and losing it or neve having one at all. I will own one as soon as I stop spending all my extra money on comics and music equipment. By the way Rev. I get and keep my hopes up because otherwize I couldn't get through the day without a perpetual frown on my face.

Probably losing it. Especially in the manner I did.

Thereare some colour-enhanced images of the rings in this article:
www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996131

As I child I wanted to be an astronomer when I grew up - then I discovered, much to my chagrin, that calculus sucks.

One of the recent pictures sent back by Cassius is mildly disturbing:


George Lucas didn't have anything to do with it, it turns out. It's actually Mimas, one of Saturn's moons. The crater is 130 kilometers wide and 10 kilometers deep.

"Thats no moon. Its a space station." A wonderful picture. Some of the more recent Cassini pictures I've seen have been terrific.

One of the Cassini pictures of Saturn is now my background of my computer at work:

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia06077

Murrin wrote:One of the recent pictures sent back by Cassius is mildly disturbing:


George Lucas didn't have anything to do with it, it turns out. It's actually Mimas, one of Saturn's moons. The crater is 130 kilometers wide and 10 kilometers deep.

Almost broke apart the moon, too.