Space and astronomy news
The Cronian system (i.e. Saturn and its system of rings and moons) is breathtaking to behold and intriguing to study. Besides its vast and beautiful ring system, it also has the second-most satellites of any planet in the Solar System. In fact, Saturn has an estimated 150 moons and moonlets – and only 53 of …
With 150 moons and moonlets in total, 53 of which have been officially named, Saturn has the second-most moons of any planet in the Solar System
The gas giant Saturn is a fascinating place. In addition to its size, impressive ring system, and weather systems, it has over 150 moons and moonlets.
Saturn has 53 confirmed and named moons, though as many as 150 may exist. This makes it second only to Jupiter in terms of the number of natural satellites it has orbiting it
Cats, celebrities and fictional creatures all have a home in the asteroid belt. That’s because the people that found these asteroids often have the privilege of naming the minor planets after anything they want — with a few guidelines, of course. So what are the rules? According to the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, …
Continue reading “Top 9 Weird Asteroid Names (and 1 Awesome Asteroid Moon Name)”
[/caption] While many of us here on Earth were waiting for the Moon to take a bite out of the Sun this past Sunday, Cassini was doing some moon watching of its own, 828.5 million miles away! The image above is a color-composite raw image of Methone (pronounced meh-tho-nee), a tiny, egg-shaped moon only 2 …
[/caption] Saturn’s moon Tethys passes in front of its slightly larger sister Dione in this animation made from 25 raw images acquired by Cassini on March 14, 2012. Pretty cool! (Click the image to play.) Tethys and Dione are similar in diameter, being 1,062 kilometers (660 miles) wide and 1,123 kilometers (698 miles) wide, respectively. Both are …
The Cassini mission is just a non-stop faucet of fantastic images! Here are two that were released today, for your viewing pleasure. The first image, above, is an eclipse of Saturn’s moon Tethys, which lies in the background, by Dione. The three images were each taken one minute apart. As you can see, from Cassini’s …
It’s likely that sometime in your education career, an English teacher had you enjoy (or suffer through, depending on your tastes) at least part of that classic of classics, Homer’s Odyssey. It tells the story of Odysseus, a Greek general, who embarks on a 10-year journey back home after battling in the fall of Troy. …
Continue reading “Homer’s “Odyssey” May Chronicle Ancient Eclipse”
Cassini captured two of Saturn’s moons in this image: Titan and Tethys. Titan is in the upper left, and is shrouded by a thick atmosphere that protects it from most impacts. Tethys, on the other hand, has no atmosphere, and has suffered numerious impacts, including the enormous impact that dug out the crater Odysseus. This image was taken on January 6, 2006, when Cassini was 2.7 million km (1.7 million miles) from Tethys, and almost double that distance from Titan.