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ICYMI: Pinchers more powerful than dog jaws
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Scientists looking into the strength of the pinchers in Coconut crabs found that they exert a force of 3,300 Newtons, which is more than the average dog's jaw and far stronger than any other crustacean. Meanwhile, NASA's plan for the Cassini spacecraft involves getting closer and closer to Saturn's rings as it uses the last of its fuel reserves, then making a fiery plunge into its atmosphere in April of next year. If you're feeling brave, feel free to watch the video of the bike going across the top of a dam, although a personal favorite is the salmon launcher. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
It's the beginning of the end for NASA's Cassini spacecraft
Cassini is officially, irrevocably in its final year of existence. The NASA spacecraft has been capturing lovely images and collecting samples of Saturn and its orbiting objects since 2004, but today Cassini enters the final phase of its mission. Between November 30th and April 22nd, Cassini will circle Saturn's poles, diving between its outermost rings once every seven days, a total of 20 times (as shown above). Its final mission is also a first -- Cassini will observe unexplored areas of Saturn's rings, including the collection of small moons orbiting near their outer edges.
Cassini spacecraft finds flooded canyons on Saturn's moon Titan
It's official: Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has canyons that are flooded with liquid. Well, liquid hydrocarbons, anyway: Scientists analyzed images from a flyby of the Ligeia Mare sea of methane that the spacecraft did in 2013 and found channels branching out from it. Some of these were narrow and deep but it wasn't until further examination that they confirmed the steep troughs were carved out by liquid.
Cassini flybys probe the depths of Titan's methane sea
As Cassini makes the final rounds of Saturn on its roughly 20-year mission, the spacecraft has maneuvered into position over Titan to explore Ligeia Mare, the second-largest methane sea on the planet's largest moon.
Cassini starts preparing for its sensational grand finale
Cassini, the spacecraft responsible for spectacular images of Saturn and its moons, is expected to dive into Saturn's atmosphere and burn up on September 15th, 2017. To prepare for this grand finale, it has begun maneuvering to higher altitudes, way above Saturn's rings and equator. In fact, it's just finished making its second maneuver on January 23rd, which took 90 minutes overall. Three more maneuvers will follow until it's near enough the planet's moon Titan so that its gravity can pull Cassini up. The spacecraft's target location is a certain altitude and latitude above the moon.
Cassini leaves Saturn's moon Enceladus after one last mission
The Cassini vehicle has been visiting Saturn's moon Enceladus for a full decade now, but it's finally time for the two to bid adieu. The spacecraft will fly by Enceladus for the last time at 12:49PM on Saturday, skimming a "moderately close" 3,106 miles above the surface. It won't just be reminiscing on its way out, though: its last major Enceladus mission will see it mapping the icy moon's internal heat, taking advantage of Saturn's years-long winter to conduct studies in ideal conditions.
Cassini gets cozy with Saturn's moon, flies 30 miles above its surface
Cassini has just finished the second of three planned Enceladus flybys on October 28th, going as close at 30 miles above the surface of the icy moon's south polar region. The photo above was taken after the flyby, showing both the moon and Saturn's rings, but rest assured the probe took a lot of close-up photos. It even grabbed some of the gas and dust that erupted from one of Enceladus' geysers that typically spew water and other materials up to 125 miles into the sky. NASA will analyze those samples within the next few weeks, which should gives us more details about the composition of the moon's ocean floor, as well as about any underwater hydrothermal activity. Cassini made the first flyby this early October to take a closer look at Enceladus' north pole region. It's scheduled to make its last one on December 19th to measure the heat the moon gives of, after which it'll move on to other things for the last two years of its life.
Cassini takes close-up pictures of Saturnian moon's north pole
Yes, the image above shows the cratered surface of a moon, but it's not ours -- it's Saturn's ice-covered satellite, Enceladus. NASA has received the first batch of photos Cassini captured during its flyby close to the celestial body's north pole on October 14th. This is the first time we've seen that part of Enceladus up close, as it always seemed to be engulfed in wintry darkness those previous times the spacecraft passed by. Apparently, NASA expected its surface to be heavily cratered based on the low-res images taken by Voyager decades ago. While it turns out that it is indeed cratered, we now know that it's also covered in cobwebby cracks. "These thin cracks are ubiquitous on Enceladus," Cassini imaging team member Paul Helfenstein said, "and now we see that they extend across the northern terrains as well."
Cassini will soar close to Saturn moon Enceladus for the last time
NASA is considering a mission that will look into the habitability of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus, thanks to data gathered by the Cassini probe. Now, the spacecraft will get up close and personal with the natural satellite by doing three flybys, possibly for the last time, as it has only has two years left. According to NASA, the probe will soar close to the moon's north pole, which was too dark to photograph during earlier flights. The agency hopes to find out whether it has fractures similar to the ones found at the moon's south pole and whether it was geologically active in the past. Cassini is flying at an altitude of 1,142 miles above Enceladus' surface today, October 14th, with a second flyby scheduled for late October and a third for mid-December.
Saturn's moon Enceladus has a global, water-based ocean
Scientists have suspected for a while that Saturn's moon Enceladus has a giant water ocean, and they now have some hard evidence to support their theories. Thanks to the Cassini spacecraft, NASA has discovered a "very slight wobble" in the moon that can only be explained by a global ocean that lets the icy crust move. Think of it like shaking an egg -- the changes in Enceladus' speed during orbit make its surface (the shell) shift around its rocky core (the yolk).
The Big Picture: Saturn illuminates the surface of its icy moon
Saturn's moon Enceladus is covered in ice. We already knew that. But what you see above is evidence of just how icy it actually is. The right side of the celestial body isn't illuminated by the sun. Nope, that's actually brightened by the light reflecting off of the adjacent ringed planet according to NASA. If you're looking for something a bit more solar in nature, take a peek at the bright wedge on the moon's left side. The aerospace outfit says that these types of pictures from Cassini are "designed to capture the extended plume of icy material" coming off the moon's south pole.
Tubular waves are, like, totally common in space
"Surfer" tube-shaped waves are created when a speedy fluid, like wind, moves over a sluggish one, like water. These so-called Kelvin-Helmholtz waves occur everywhere in the universe, as you can see in the image of Saturn's upper atmosphere, above. They also happen when solar winds strike the Earth's protective magnetosphere, and researchers now believe that they occur much more often there than we thought. Not only that, but they might cause the magnetosphere to be charged with plasma, affecting how it works to protect life on our planet from radiation.
Cassini captures detailed images of Saturn's moon Dione
This is a photo of Dione, one of Saturn's moons. Just like the planet's most stunning images, this picture was also captured by NASA's and ESA's Cassini spacecraft, as it flew by on June 16th. The vessel, which has been orbiting Saturn for over a decade, took the pictures in visible light using a narrow-angle camera at an altitude of 321 miles from the moon's pockmarked surface. While that's pretty close, the closest flyby yet happened in 2011, when Cassini flew by Dione at an altitude of 62 miles.
Saturn's icy moon possibly has warm waters that could foster life
Enceladus used to be just another icy moon until the Cassini spacecraft spotted geysers on its surface, spewing water 125 miles into the sky back in 2005. Now, after years of research, scientists have published two studies suggesting that these geysers are caused by hydrothermal vents or fissures that heat the water at the bottom of the 6-mile-deep ocean beneath the Saturn's moon ice crust. Why is that important? Well, if the vents truly exist, the waters that surround them will contain chemicals and minerals necessary for life. Plus, the conditions around those vents will be similar to the environment surrounding Atlantic Ocean's hydrothermal field -- the place where life on Earth might have begun.
NASA catches a glimpse of Saturn birthing a new moon
For the first and perhaps the last time ever, NASA's Cassini spacecraft, whose mission is to orbit Saturn, has captured a new moon emerge from the jovian planet's rings. As you might know, the birth of a moon is an extremely rare event, and in Saturn's case, it might never happen again. You see, there's a theory that the sixth planet from the sun used to have a much larger ring system, which led to formation of numerous natural satellites. After birthing a whopping 62 moons, though, the rings are now too depleted to make more, even if they still look lush from afar. This could be our very last chance to observe how Saturn's ring particles form a natural satellite that detaches from the planet and ultimately orbits around it.
Visualized: Saturn's relentless 'hexagon' storm
This isn't the first we've seen of Saturn's six-sided jet stream, but NASA's calling the GIF after the break "the first hexagon movie of its kind." The "movie" is made from a compilation of images taken by the Cassini spacecraft, and depicts a hurricane-like storm at the center of the "hexagon" that has populated the planet's north pole for decades, if not centuries. For more check out the press release at the source link below.
As the Cassini Spacecraft takes a faraway Earth picture, you can follow along
Earth will get a very not-too-close closeup today from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, now on the far side of the planet Saturn. The photo session will take place between 2:27 PM and 2:42 PM PDT. The Earth will be seen from 900 million miles away. It won't be a detailed image, but it is the longest-range photo ever taken of the Earth. This will likely be the one and only image the spacecraft takes of the Earth. You can follow along with a couple of iOS apps that will virtually take you there. First, SkySafari has just had an update to the iOS and Mac apps they offer. SkySafari's basic version will be free on the iTunes Store from July 19th through July 21st; it's normally US$3 at the iTunes Store. With SkySafari, observers around the globe can easily use their iPhone or GPS, compass and accelerometer to easily locate Saturn in the sky. A brand-new release of SkySafari Plus ($9.99 sale price) and Pro (3.8.1) ($29.99) lets mobile app users fly to Saturn, and simulate the view from Cassini. These powerful apps will be offered at up to 25 percent off regular price today, the day of the event, through Sunday, July 21st. Meanwhile, another great Astronomy app, Distant Suns (Classic) for iOS is having a half-price sale today at $1.99. Distant Suns Max is $3.99 down from a regular price of $9.99. Distant Suns can take you for a virtual view of the Earth from Saturn just as it will appear to the Cassini spacecraft. The Cassini mission has been pretty awesome. People around the world are gathering at planetariums and other public places to wave back at Saturn when the images of Earth are being taken. After the moon, I think my first views through my telescope when I was young were of Saturn. It's a beautiful sight. If you want to get a look at Saturn today and tonight here's a guide to help you. Saturn will be in the southwestern sky tonight from North America. With powerful binoculars or a small telescope, you should be able to see the rings. Here's another bit of trivia: Our own Steve Sande's wife Barbara was on the Cassini launch team. Well done! %Gallery-194190%
Journey through the cosmos with In Saturn's Rings, heading to IMAX in 2014 (video)
Ever since NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft entered Saturn's orbit in 2004, filmmaker Stephen van Vuuren has been enthralled with its progress. So much so that he's spent years collecting over a million insanely high-res photos from Cassini's mission and quilted them together into a 45-minute film called In Saturn's Rings. Without relying on CGI or fancy visual effects, van Vuuren has patched together a seamless visual journey through our solar system, culminating in a breathtaking view of Saturn's rings and moons. Distributed by BIG & Digital, the movie is expected to make its way to IMAX theaters sometime in 2014, though there's no word yet on a specific release date. The first official trailer dropped today, and you can watch it -- in 4K if you've got the right screen -- after the break.
NASA creates the first topographic map of Titan, Saturn's largest moon
Scientists observing Saturn's moon Titan with NASA's Cassini spacecraft have boldly gone where no man has gone before -- visually, anyway. Using radar imagery collected from nine years of Cassini flybys, researchers were able to patch together the first global topographic map of Titan, published in the July 2013 issue of Icarus. Ralph Lorenz, a member of the Cassini radar team at Johns Hopkins, said, "Titan has so much interesting activity -- like flowing liquids and moving sand dunes -- but to understand these processes it's useful to know how the terrain slopes." In particular, understanding the moon's terrain can reveal a lot about its dynamic climate system. Like Earth, Titan's atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen, but the liquids and vapors on the moon's surface are made of methane and other organic chemicals integral to the creation of complex life. By studying the relationship between atmosphere and terrain, researchers hope to learn more about the evolution of life in its earliest stages, and inspire curious minds to turn their eyes toward Titan.
Visualized: Space hurricane! NASA's Cassini records super cyclone on Saturn (video)
If the crashing sound of lightning striking Saturn wasn't enough to excite your inner-meteorologist, then perhaps footage of a raging extraterrestrial hurricane will win you over. After orbiting the ringed planet for nine years, NASA's Cassini probe has managed to snag video of a super storm on the celestial body's north pole. Cloaked by the darkness of winter, the hurricane's eye became visible as Saturn's northern hemisphere transitioned into spring. Unlike the tropical cyclones of Earth (see: Hurricane Katrina, Sandy and Irene), this furious typhoon has been spinning for several years and has winds that flow at speeds exceeding 300MPH. Further differentiating itself from our world's whirlwinds, this alien cyclone is locked to its planet's north pole and is fueled by small amounts of water vapor instead of an actual ocean. Completely in a category of its own, the hurricane's eye measures about 1,250 miles wide and is surrounded by fluffy white clouds the size of Texas. To see this Saturnian fury in all its glory, check out the video after the break and feel free to leave your gratuitous hurricane names in the comments below.
