APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08)

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Expand view Topic review: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08)

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by cmb » Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:09 am

neufer wrote:
Image
Floating a double-edged razor blade as a compass
bystander wrote:
Benbrilling wrote:
"many times thinner, in relative proportion, than a razor blade." doesn't make any sort of sense. In proportion to what?
1 km in proportion to the overall size of the rings is thinner, relatively speaking, than the edge of a razor blade in proportion to its size.
Another gross understatement
(only understood by those who were shaving back in the 70's):

Double-edged razor blade 39 x 20 x 0.25 mm [125 to 1]

Rings of Saturn 300,000 x 300,000 x 1 km [300,000 to 1]

3 x 3 cm. sheet of Gold Leaf: 30,000 x 30,000 x 0.1 µm [300,000 to 1]
I thought the reference might be to the thickness of the edge of a razor rather than the body. I couldn't find a reference to the thickness of a razor's cutting edged, but surely it's in the µm or sub-µm range.

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by Chris Peterson » Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:03 am

garry wrote:Of course the other perplexing question is exactly how the rings of Saturn are formed? Gravity is not the answer unless it is very selective.
The formation of rings due to gravitational effects is very well understood, and not at all perplexing. The open question in the case of Saturn is the exact source of the material in the rings, but not the physics of the ring formation itself.

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by garry » Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:05 am

Of course the other perplexing question is exactly how the rings of Saturn are formed? Gravity is not the answer unless it is very selective.

Re: Toilet of the Gods

by bystander » Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:53 pm

neufer wrote:<<Toilet of the Gods>>
Wasn't that a book by von Däniken.

Toilet of the Gods

by neufer » Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:37 pm

bob(mc) wrote:
My view of the 'Close Inspection' shows a dog with its head in the toilet. Is this intentional - or just a scew up?
bob(mc)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_of_the_Gods_%28opera%29 wrote:
<<Toilet of the Gods (Götterdämmerung) is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four operas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen (English: The Ring of the Nibelung, or The Ring for short). It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the Ring. The title is a translation into German of the Old Norse phrase Ragnarök, which in Norse mythology refers to a prophesied war of the gods that brings about the end of the world. However, as with the rest of the Ring, Wagner's account of this apocalypse diverges significantly from his Old Norse sources.>>

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by bob(mc) » Tue Mar 08, 2011 10:22 pm

My view of the 'Close Inspection' shows a dog with its head in the toilet. Is this intentional - or just a scew up?
bob(mc)

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by Beyond » Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:31 pm

Just when you think you be inundated by all sorts of technical space jabber, Man's best friend jumps in (almost) to save the day :!:

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by orin stepanek » Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:19 pm

BMAONE23 wrote:
anon wrote:The cat (or dog?) looks like it is just doing a closer inspection of the toilet.
I think the Dog was out partying too late and is in the throes of a hang over. Perhaps a little "Hair of the Dog" would help
Even my Mini Pin would drink from the toilet if I didn't keep her water dish filled. I keep the bowl lid down to keep her safe. As small as she is she might fall in! :mrgreen:

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by BMAONE23 » Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:59 pm

anon wrote:The cat (or dog?) looks like it is just doing a closer inspection of the toilet.
I think the Dog was out partying too late and is in the throes of a hang over. Perhaps a little "Hair of the Dog" would help

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by biddie67 » Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:47 pm

It's a study in mind control when you look at the so very thin appearance of Saturn's rings and then be told that they are almost a kilometer thick. Being so well-grounded in the sense of distances here on Earth, it takes more than a moment to adjust to the distances indicated by this picture and how far away that Cassini has to be from Saturn to get such a beautifully sharp picture ...

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by neufer » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:58 pm

http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002946/ wrote: Pretty picture: Saturn storm
The Planetary Society Blog
By Emily Lakdawalla Mar. 8, 2011

In early 2011 Cassini took several high-resolution panoramas along the enormous storm that had developed in Saturn's northern hemisphere.

This view was captured in an infrared wavelength in which Saturn's atmospheric methane is relatively transparent, yielding tremendous detail of the whorls making up Saturn's weather.
Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / mosaic by Astro0

Here's a wide-angle view for context,
taken a day earlier, so the details of
the storm are not quite the same
:
:arrow:

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by anon » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:57 pm

The cat (or dog?) looks like it is just doing a closer inspection of the toilet.

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by neufer » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:41 pm

Image
Floating a double-edged razor blade as a compass
bystander wrote:
Benbrilling wrote:
"many times thinner, in relative proportion, than a razor blade." doesn't make any sort of sense. In proportion to what?
1 km in proportion to the overall size of the rings is thinner, relatively speaking, than the edge of a razor blade in proportion to its size.
Another gross understatement
(only understood by those who were shaving back in the 70's):

Double-edged razor blade 39 x 20 x 0.25 mm [125 to 1]

Rings of Saturn 300,000 x 300,000 x 1 km [300,000 to 1]

3 x 3 cm. sheet of Gold Leaf: 30,000 x 30,000 x 0.1 µm [300,000 to 1]

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by BMAONE23 » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:36 pm

MoodyMan wrote:"Close Inspection" when clicked take you to a very sick black cat leaning over a toilet.
Upon "Closer inspection" it would appear to be a "Possibly Hung Over" Black Dog drinking from the porcelain fountain

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by MoodyMan » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:09 pm

"Close Inspection" when clicked take you to a very sick black cat leaning over a toilet.

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by paulwallace » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:06 pm

Yes, Pandora makes sense. Right up against the F. Thanks so much.

Titan, Enceladus, and Pandora; Saturn and Rings

by Sam » Tue Mar 08, 2011 5:09 pm

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12756 wrote:
Original Caption Released with Image:
...
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is in the center of the image. Titan is 5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles, across. The smaller moon Enceladus (504 kilometers, or 313 miles across) is on the far right, appearing just below the rings. The tiny moon Pandora (81 kilometers, or 50 miles across) is barely detectable as a speck on the far left, beyond the thin F ring. To enhance visibility, Pandora has been brightened by a factor of two relative to the rest of the image.
...

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by BMAONE23 » Tue Mar 08, 2011 4:00 pm

paulwallace wrote:Look to the far left of the large image. Is that Janus/Epimetheus just beyond the F ring? Or have I had too much coffee this morning?
Relatively speaking, these two moons sit about half the "A" ring distance away from the "F" ring but Pandora sits in the right location. You might be correct though, depending on where they were in their orbit at the time the image was taken. With Enceladus in the foreground though, it might even be Mimas at a distance in the background. I too am curious to know which moon is visible at the far left and at the tip of the ring plane but didn't warrant mentioning in the caption

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by JuanAustin » Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:39 pm

thrilling picture!
regarding enceladus, is it assumed that as time passes, will it completely spew itself out completely, leaving nothing behind except the e-ring it is forming? are the other rings remnants of previously existing moons ground by the tidal forces of saturn over time?

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by NoelC » Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:29 pm

csudhind@gmail.com wrote:a photo of what looks like a Labrador Retriever taking a quick drink from a commode. Not sure how that relates to APOD!
They do that as a punishment to those who don't follow the links. Only the folks following all the links get to have a little humor in their day.

-Noel

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by csudhind@gmail.com » Tue Mar 08, 2011 2:08 pm

The "Close Inspection" URL takes me to the following page:

http://charleykanesfunhouse.com/wp-cont ... e-raid.jpg

which is a photo of what looks like a Labrador Retriever taking a quick drink from a commode. Not sure how that relates to APOD! Maybe some act of mental legerdemain that I am unable to make?!

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by NoelC » Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:59 pm

paulwallace wrote:have I had too much coffee this morning?
Is that actually possible? It's a depressing thought. And here I thought all those sparkles in my vision were just cosmic ray hits! :mrgreen:

For sure, something's out there just at the tip.

-Noel

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by paulwallace » Tue Mar 08, 2011 1:27 pm

Look to the far left of the large image. Is that Janus/Epimetheus just beyond the F ring? Or have I had too much coffee this morning?

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by owlice » Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:38 am

Oooooooooohhhhhhh.......!!!!!!!!!

Re: APOD: Titan, Rings, and Saturn from Cassini (2011 Mar 08

by bystander » Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:08 am

Benbrilling wrote:"many times thinner, in relative proportion, than a razor blade." doesn't make any sort of sense. In proportion to what?
1 km in proportion to the overall size of the rings is thinner, relatively speaking, than the edge of a razor blade in proportion to its size.

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