hyperion Archives

May 29, 2015December 23, 2015 by Jason Major

Cassini to Perform Its Final Flyby of Hyperion

Enhanced-color image of Hyperion from Sept. 26, 2005. (NASA/JPL/SSI)

On Sunday, May 31, the Cassini spacecraft will perform its last close pass of Hyperion, Saturn’s curiously spongelike moon. At approximately 9:36 a.m. EDT (13:36 UTC) it will zip past Hyperion at a distance of about 21,000 miles (34,000 km) – not its closest approach ever but considerably closer (by 17,500 miles/28,160 km) than it was when the image above was acquired.*

This will be Cassini’s last visit of Hyperion. It will make several flybys of other moons within Saturn’s equatorial plane over the course of 2015 before shifting to a more inclined orbit in preparation of the end phase of its mission and its operating life in 2017.

At 255 x 163 x 137 miles (410 x 262 x 220 km) in diameter, Hyperion is the largest of Saturn’s irregularly-shaped moons. Researchers suspect it’s the remnant of a larger body that was blown apart by an impact. Hyperion’s craters appear to have a “punched-in” look rather than having been excavated, and have no visible ejecta or secondary craters nearby.

Impactors tend to make craters by compressing the surface material, rather than blasting it out. (NASA/JPL/SSI. Edit by J. Major.) — Impacts on Hyperion tend to “punch in” the surface material, rather than blasting it out. (NASA/JPL/SSI. Edit by J. Major.)

Hyperion orbits Saturn in an eccentric orbit at a distance of over 920,000 miles (1.48 million km)…that’s almost four times the distance our Moon is from us! This distance – as well as constant gravitational nudges from Titan – prevents Hyperion from becoming tidally locked with Saturn like nearly all of its other moons are. In fact its rotation is more of haphazard tumble than a stately spin, making targeted observations of any particular regions on its surface virtually impossible.

Images from the May 31 flyby are expected to arrive on Earth 24 to 48 hours later.

As small as it is Hyperion is Saturn’s eighth-largest moon, although it appears to be very porous and has a density half that of water. Read more about Hyperion here and see more images of it from Cassini here and here.

Source: NASA

*Cassini did come within 310 miles (500 km) of Hyperion on Sept. 26, 2005, but the images to make up the view above were acquired during approach.

UPDATE June 1, 2015: the raw images from Cassini’s flyby have arrived on Earth, check out a few below. (Looks like Cassini ended up with the same side of Hyperion again!)

Hyperion on May 31, 2015. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI. (Minor editing by J. Major.)

Hyperion on May 31, 2015. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI.

October 20, 2014December 23, 2015 by Elizabeth Howell

Zap! Saturn Moon’s Electron Beam Beaned Cassini Spacecraft From Charged Surface

A false-color view of Saturn's moon Hyperion taken during a Cassini flyby in September 2005. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Ever taken a balloon and rubbed it against your hair? That’s an example of electrostatic charging, which you see as the balloon briefly attracts strands of hair against your head. Turns out a similar process is taking place on Saturn’s moon Hyperion. More astounding, it wasn’t until recently that scientists saw a curious effect on the Cassini spacecraft in 2005.

As the machine whizzed by the small moon, Cassini was blanketed in electrons from Hyperion’s electrostatically charged surface. It’s the first time scientists have seen static electricity in effect on any airless body outside of the Moon.

The charge comes partly from massive Saturn’s magnetic field, which hits Hyperion’s spongy surface constantly with electrons and ions. The Sun also plays a role, sending ultraviolet light that also strikes the moon’s surface. Scientists found out this happens while studying old data on the Cassini spacecraft, when they discovered “something unexpected” during a close flyby of Hyperion in September 2005.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft obtained this unprocessed image of Saturn's moon Hyperion on Aug. 25, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute — NASA’s Cassini spacecraft obtained this unprocessed image of Saturn’s moon Hyperion on Aug. 25, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Specifically, the spacecraft — which is still in operation today — was briefly connected through magnetism to Hyperion’s surface, receiving a surge of electrons. Cassini emerged from the encounter unharmed, even though team members estimate that it received the equivalent of a 200-volt shock from the moon. Charging events can hurt spacecraft, making this a valuable thing to know about for future missions.

“Our observations show that this is also an important effect at outer planet moons and that we need to take this into account when studying how these moons interact with their environment,” stated Geraint Jones of Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), University College London. He is a member of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) team and one of the study’s supervisors.

CAPS is not in operation any more, since the instrument was turned off due to drawing excess current in 2012. But perhaps some of its past data, and observations from other Cassini instruments, can help unveil evidence of charging on other moons.

The tumbling motion of elongated Eros creates a changing brightness. (via transitofvenus.nl)

Previous research concerning some of Saturn’s moons, and the asteroid Eros, suggests that charged dust can move across the surface and perhaps even be able to sail into space against the force of gravity.

Several other instruments were used to gather data for this analysis, including Cassini’s magnetometer, magnetospheric imaging instrument, and radio and plasma wave science instrument.

You can read more about the research, which was led by Tom Nordheim, an MSSL doctoral candidate, in Geophysical Research Letters.

Source: NASA

August 26, 2011December 24, 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

A Close Look at Saturn’s Sponge Moon

This raw, unprocessed image of Hyperion was taken on August 25, 2011 and received on Earth August 26, 2011. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

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It might be one of the weirdest-looking moons in the solar system: Saturn’s moon Hyperion looks like a giant sponge. Additionally, its eccentric orbit makes it subject to gravitational forces from Saturn, so it is just tumbling along, almost out of control. Just yesterday, August 25, 2011, the Cassini spacecraft made a relatively close flyby of Hyperion (24,000 km 15,000 miles away) and took some amazing images.

“Hyperion is a small moon … just 168 miles across (270 kilometers)… orbiting between Titan and Iapetus,” said Carolyn Porco in an email. Porco is the Cassini imaging team lead. “It has an irregular shape and surface appearance, and it rotates chaotically as it tumbles along in orbit, making it impossible to say just exactly what terrain we would image during this flyby.”

See some more of the shots below:

Side view taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft of Saturn's moon Hyperion. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Scientists say this flyby’s closeness has likely allowed Cassini’s cameras to map new territory. At the very least, it will help scientists improve color measurements of the moon. It will also help them determine how the moon’s brightness changes as lighting and viewing conditions change, which can provide insight into the texture of the surface. The color measurements provide additional information about different materials on the moon’s deeply pitted surface.

A darker view of Hyperion. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The next closest pass of Hyperion is coming up again soon: Sept. 16, 2011, when it passes the tumbling moon at a distance of about 36,000 miles (58,000 kilometers).

See more raw images at the CICLOPS website.