Cassini finds Saturn's 60th Moon

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/21/content_6408551.htm

Cassini finds Saturn's 60th Moon
www.chinaview.cn 2007-07-21 05:54:26

This NASA file image from 2003 shows an artist's conception of the spacecraft Cassini. The name Frank has been temporarily given to Saturn's 60th moon, the European SPace Agency said here on Friday.

This NASA file image from 2003 shows an artist's conception of the spacecraft Cassini. (AFP Photo)

WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have recently discovered that the planet Saturn is turning 60 -- not years, but moons.

"We detected the 60th moon orbiting Saturn using the Cassini spacecraft's powerful wide-angle camera," said Carl Murray, a Cassini imaging team scientist in a statement released by NASA on Friday.

The newly discovered moon first appeared as a very faint dot in a series of images Cassini took of the Saturnian ring system on May 30 of this year. After the initial detection, Murray and fellow Cassini imaging scientists played interplanetary detective, searching for clues of the new moon in the voluminous library of Cassini images to date.

The Cassini imaging team's legwork paid off. They confirmed it is the 60th discovered moon of Saturn. It is about 2 km wide and, like so many of its neighbors, is made mostly of ice and rock. The moon's location in the Saturnian sky is between the orbits of Methone and Pallene.

Scientists also established a good orbit for the new moon. Knowing where the moons are at all times is important to the Cassini mission for several reasons. One of the most important is so the spacecraft itself does not run into it.

Another reason is each discovery helps provide a better understanding about how Saturn's ring system and all its billions upon billions of parts work and interact together. Finally, a discovery of a moon is important because with this new knowledge, the Cassini mission planners and science team can plan to perform science experiments during future observations.

Murray and his colleagues may get the chance to explore Saturn's 60th moon. The Cassini spacecraft's trajectory will put it within 11,700 km in December of 2009.

It is the fifth moon discovered by the Cassini imaging team. "When the Cassini mission launched back in 1997, we knew of only 18 moons orbiting Saturn," said Murray.

"Now, between Earth-based telescopes and Cassini we have more than tripled that number - and each and every new discovery adds another piece to the puzzle and becomes another new world to explore."
Editor: Luan Shanglin

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6908190.stm

A new moon has been discovered orbiting Saturn - bringing the planet's latest moon tally up to 60.

The body was spotted in a series of images taken by cameras onboard the Cassini spacecraft.

Initial calculations suggest the moon is about 2km-wide (1.2 miles) and its orbit sits between those of two other Saturnian moons, Methone and Pallene.

The Cassini Imaging Team, who found the object, said Saturn's moon count could rise further still.

New family

The moon appears as a dim speck in images taken by the Cassini probe's wide-angle camera on 30 May 2007.

The Saturnian system continues to amaze and intrigue us with many hidden treasures being discovered the more closely we look
Professor Carl Murray

Professor Carl Murray, a Cassini Imaging Team scientist from Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL), said: "After initially detecting this extremely faint object, we carried out an exhaustive search of all Cassini images to date and were able to find further detections."

It is thought, like many of Saturn's other moons, to be mostly made up of ice and rock.

The body's proximity to Methone and Pallene suggests the three satellites may constitute a family of moons.

"Naturally we are going to use Cassini's cameras to search for additional family members," added Professor Murray.

The moon, currently dubbed Frank by the scientists who discovered it, has yet to be officially named. This decision will be taken by the International Astronomical Union.

Professor Murray said: "The Saturnian system continues to amaze and intrigue us with many hidden treasures being discovered the more closely we look."

'Epic journey'

The Cassini-Huygens mission, a collaboration between the US space agency (Nasa), the European Space Agency (Esa) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI), set off on its mission to explore Saturnian system in 1997.

The Cassini space probe arrived at its destination in 2004, while the Huygens probe, initially carried onboard Cassini, landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in 2005.

Professor Keith Mason, chief executive of the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), said: "It is amazing to think that when Cassini embarked upon its epic journey to Saturn in 1997, we only knew about 18 of its moons.

"Since then, through observations from ground based telescopes and the Cassini spacecraft, a further 42 have been identified."

obmar · Site Admin Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 5697

ntroduction
Cassini is providing our closest encounter yet with Saturn, possibly the most beautiful planet in the solar system.

The largest interplanetary spacecraft ever built will orbit the planet 70 times during its four-year stay.

A highlight will be the release in December of the Huygens probe. It will land on a moon, Titan, whose atmosphere resembles Earth's four billion years ago, before life began.

The Inquisitor · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 772

Hey,

We don't know if there was or wasn't life 4 billion years ago on Earth. Titan could very well hold some important keys to early life there and here.