Posted on 11/22/2016 9:40:46 PM PST by BenLurkin
On November 30, Cassini will begin a phase of the mission that the science team calls Cassinis Ring-Grazing Orbits, as the spacecraft will start skimming past the outer edge of the rings, coming within at times 4,850 miles (7,800 kilometers) of the rings.
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Between November 30, 2016 and April 22, 2017 Cassini will circle high over and under the poles of Saturn, diving every seven days for a total of 20 times through the unexplored region at the outer edge of the main rings.
During the close passes, Cassinis instruments will attempt to directly sample the icy ring particles and molecules of faint gases that are found close to the rings. Cassini will also capture some of the best high-resolution images of the rings, and garner the best views ever of the small moons Atlas, Pan, Daphnis and Pandora, which orbit near the rings outer edges.
During the first two ring-grazing orbits, the spacecraft will pass directly through an extremely faint ring produced by tiny meteors striking the two small moons Janus and Epimetheus. Later ring crossings in March and April will send the spacecraft through the dusty outer reaches of the F ring.
Even though were flying closer to the F ring than we ever have, theres very little concern over dust hazard at that range, said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at JPL.
Of course, the ultimate endgame is that Cassini will plunge into Saturn with its Grand Finale, ending the mission on September 15, 2017. Since Cassini is running out of fuel, destroying the spacecraft is necessary to ensure planetary protection, making sure any potential microbes from Earth that may still be attached to the spacecraft dont contaminate any of Saturns potentially habitable moons.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
I knew a Cassini.
He ran numbers out of a Grasmere barber shop :)
This is what I’ve been waiting for. When Cassini arrived at Saturn I thought we would see the rings close up. But although Cassini “shot the gap”, it was a transient maneuver, and we didn’t get the close up and personal view of the rings I was hoping for.
Now, my hopes are renewed. We will see. I do question whether we will get the “down among them” view that has been the object of my fantasy for many years.
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