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Cassini Alters Path. Phoebe Now In Sight!

Posted by timothy on from the different-phoebe dept.

Anonymous Explorer writes "This week the Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft finally entered the Saturn system and made its first main-engine burn in five years in preparation of for the Phoebe flyby. This long journey has been one filled with much promise and peril. Launched in 1997, Cassini is expected to have a rendezvous with the moon Phoebe on June 11. For those of us who are lazy, that's just a tad under two weeks away. After the Phoebe flyby, it's on to the ringed planet, with an anticipated July 1 ground orbit insertion. The ESA's Huygens probe will descend into the atmosphere of Titan a few months after Cassini is inserted into orbit. This mission promises to be one that brings a very psychedelic and beautiful area of our solar system into clearer focus. This multinational mission is one the most ambitious scientific explorations yet undertaken and promises some truly otherworldly images in the near future. With 31 moons/natural satellites thus far discovered orbiting Saturn, there should be a lot to keep us occupied. Anyone else excited about the journey to a ringed world? Lets all enjoy this ride. It promises to be a unique one as much as for the scenery as for the science. Informal discussion regarding the Cassini-Huygens mission can be found at #cassini on irc.freenode.net."

4 of 186 comments (clear)

  1. water on earth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    And though there is no liquid water, what water does on Earth, methane does on Titan.
    Do the Saturnians drink eight glasses of methane a day?
  2. Re:Well... by kfg · · Score: 5, Funny

    Guess the mission engineers took the brown acid.

    "Gimme an Ph!"

    And it's one, two, three, what's this Cassini for?
    Don't ask me I don't really care,
    I suppose just 'cause Titan's there

    And it's five, six, seven, open up the pod bay doors.
    There ain't no time to wonder why,
    Whoopee! It's a Phoebe flyby.

    KFG

  3. lazy people first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cassini is expected to have a rendezvous with the moon Phoebe on June 11. For those of us who are lazy, that's just a tad under two weeks away.

    Does this mean that those of us who are not lazy have to wait a few more weeks before we can learn about Phoebe's observations?

  4. Odyssey 2004 by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    Phoebe best image so far, from Voyager2 in 1981

    "My God! It's full of pixels!"

    --
    Table-ized A.I.