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Posted on 06/23/2026 12:23:56 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: What would it look like to fly past Triton, the largest moon of planet Neptune? Only one spacecraft has ever done this -- and the images of this dramatic encounter have been gathered into a video. In 1989, the Voyager 2 robotic spacecraft shot through the Neptune system with cameras blazing. Triton is slightly smaller than Earth's Moon but has ice volcanoes and a surface rich in frozen nitrogen. The first sequence in the video shows Voyager's approach to Triton, which, with the exception of an overall false green tint, appears in approximately true color. The mysterious cantaloupe terrain seen under the spacecraft soon changed from light to dark, with the terminator of night crossing underneath. After closest approach, Voyager pivoted to see the departing moon, now visible as a diminishing crescent. In 2015, the robotic New Horizons spacecraft famously flew past Pluto, an orb of similar size to Triton.
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Today's image is a 1 minute video at the source link.
🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔
Today's image is a 1 minute video at the source link.
Amazing. We, as Americans were able to do that 37 years ago!
Wow.
That's a bit more than 13,000 times the diameter of Hubble's main mirror.
If such a telescope actually existed, and was orbiting at the altitude of Hubble's orbit, it would be easily visible with the naked eye. Viewed along it's mirror's optical axis, it would be about 1.6 times the angular diameter of the moon.
Sorry, Triton. Not Titan.
I wonder why it’s not as “pock-marked” as our Moon? 🤔
Yes, I agree. And it is sad that today we have made everything so complex that the most basic things cannot be done without required complexities that require 10 times the design time and 1,000 times the cost. I worked in the aerospace industry for 36 years and much of it in satellite design. I think 90% of my time was spent on things not related to the intended function of the satellite. So I can see how we did this so many years ago and have trouble doing it today.
Neptune is much more massive than Earth, so the gravitational tidal forces cause more surface movement on Triton than on our Moon. The craters just don't last as long.
Thankfully no Uranus jokes. :-)
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Earth’s moon is covered by rock. Triton is covered by nitrogen ice. Tidal forces warm nitrogen ice enough to make it slushy and destroy craters over time.
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That , would be an awesome sight, but I’m glad we won’t see it!
They told us that computers would save us SO MUCH TIME.
I worked in the nuclear power industry for 37 years. I started work in the Main Fram ira.
Computers were mainly used in payroll and warehousing/cataloging parts.
As computers moved out into the workforce mainly they increase the amount of work that each individual was expected to do.
I went from being an operator to being an operator/procedure writer.
Then when Xcell became a thing I started writing spreadsheets as well.
Then when Plant prints and drawing became available on-line I started being an assistant to engineering.
Then Computer Based training came in to vogue and continuing training that used to consume a week out of the work cycle became something that I did when I could find the time in the work day (but of course that training had a due date).
Computers increase productivity they say. But how much of that produced work is actually useful and necessary? And is it worth the stress? How much of that work is worth the extra stress that it places on the worker.
One of the reasons I decided to retire early was the ever increasing amount of Computer Based Training that they wanted done during my regular work hours. Much of it being repetitive. Some of it was complex regulatory certification testing that previously took 3 days to complete with an instructor.
Computers are a mixed bag as to their worth to mankind.
Why the false green tint?
Voyager 1 is now almost one light day away from Earth. Voyager 2 is about 19 light hours away .
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