#PPOD: To end our week, we look back at this beautiful picture of Titan and Saturn taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on May 22, 2015. Processed using calibrated near-infrared (MT2, CB2) filtered images. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Kevin M. Gill
#PPOD: Mimas drifts along in its orbit against the azure backdrop of Saturn's northern latitudes in this true-color view. The long, dark lines on the atmosphere are shadows cast by the planet's rings. At the bottom, craters on icy Mimas (398 kilometers) give the moon a dimpled appearance. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute/CICLOPS
Well, in this case it is. Back in 2003, #Saturn's moon Titan passed in front of the #CrabNebula. Chandra was on the spot, catching the transit as it happened. Astronomers were able to see the shadow cast by Titan, and used the size of that shadow to measure the extent of Titan's atmosphere.
A great result, demonstrating the power of the Dark Side!
The latest in City Connection's Saturn Tribute line, Assault Suit Leynos 2, is on sale now in the West on Xbox and Steam — complete with a new English localization handled by Chilloc! Get the details in my story here:
Looking for some light reading material about your favorite 32-bit console? A new fan-made coffee table book about the Sega Saturn has you covered. Read about it and where to get it in our story:
Into The Shadows was an impressive looking 3D fantasy fighting game developed for Scavenger back in 1996 for #PC, #PlayStation and #Sega#Saturn. Only a rolling demo currently exists, but something playable is hoped to be found. Can it be saved?
Could we be playing Saturn games on our iPhones? Saturn emulator Yaba Sanshiro has applied to the App Store after Apple changed its guidelines — get the details in my story:
#PPOD: Taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on September 12, 2007, this image of Saturn's outermost large moon Iapetus has been assembled from infrared, green, and ultraviolet-filtered images (IR1/GRN/UV3). The large craters Engelier and Gerin are near the top right. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Kevin M. Gill
[#ActuScience@IRAP ] A young IRAP PhD student formulates a new #theoretical model of the giant #magnetospheres of the planets #Jupiter and #Saturn: "By considering only the global motion of the #plasma (coming from the moons #Io and #Enceladus), it is possible to understand it simply as... a competition between various rotation resistances!"
"A fresh, icy crust hides a deep, enigmatic ocean. Plumes of water burst through cracks in the ice, shooting into space. An intrepid lander collects samples and analyses them for hints of life."
You ever hear a fact that utterly blows your mind? That would be impossible to believe if there weren't photographic evidence?
Saturn's rings can be counted like rings on a treestump. They tell the story of the entire Saturn system's history.
What's more, they aren't rings, they are spirals. The gravitational mechanics of Saturn's rings work similarly to galactic arms, only wound more tightly.
The density waves that are formed by "shepherd moons" aren't one-directional, either. In one of the pics attached, the gravitational wake of the moon Daphnis can be seen throwing up waves perpendicular to the plane of the rings.
Via Mike Acs on Flickr, an image of what I believe was the proposed Saturn MLV-11.5 configuration -- basically a Saturn IB with four five-segment solid boosters strapped to it.
The idea was to hit a middle spot for payload between the IB's 18.6 tonnes and the Saturn V's 118 -- around 40 tonnes.