Only 26 days until Cassini inserts itself into Saturn's orbit!!! I am so giddy with excitement I can barely contain myself! (no joke) ... We are talking about the surface mapping of all Saturn's 31 moons as well as Saturn's surface - assuming it has a surface - and the compound analysis of it's atmosphere and the material making up it's infamous rings. The next few months is said to be like an episode of Star Trek. I will be glued to the Science and NASA channels...
Anyone care to theroize what the terrain on Titan will look like when the Huygens probe descends through it's atomosphere? I have a feeling that this is one of the places in our solar system where life exists - or existed at some point it time.
Only 26 days until Cassini inserts itself into Saturn's orbit!!!
As long as nobody mixes up their measurement system!!!!!
Actually I think this is cool too, even though I don't think I'm shaking anywhere over it. *S*
PS But, I mean really what is the ratio of people who use metric to those of who don't?
Here is the potential start to another heated thread!
What is everyone's take on the metric system? I think this is a huge topic and a great conversation topic to get all kinds of opinions and views on...
Ok, really I'll take that nap now, you don't need to put the 'special' jacket on me. Please......Please.....Pleammmfffmmmfffttt.
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As long as nobody mixes up their measurement system!!!!!
LOL!! Yes that's right. I had forgotten about that. What mission was that? Was it before or after they launched this probe in 1997? However, will they the mistake twice? Probably not. We will be amazed by another incredibly embarrassing mistake I am afraid. On a more positive note, their success with the Mars rover missions has been phenominal!
- Greg ----- Original Message ----- From: Ian Skinner To: CF-Community Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 1:48 PM Subject: RE: Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn!
Only 26 days until Cassini inserts itself into Saturn's orbit!!!
As long as nobody mixes up their measurement system!!!!!
Actually I think this is cool too, even though I don't think I'm shaking anywhere over it. *S*
PS But, I mean really what is the ratio of people who use metric to those of who don't?
Here is the potential start to another heated thread!
What is everyone's take on the metric system? I think this is a huge topic and a great conversation topic to get all kinds of opinions and views on...
Ok, really I'll take that nap now, you don't need to put the 'special' jacket on me. Please......Please.....Pleammmfffmmmfffttt.
Confidentiality Notice: This message including any attachments is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete any copies of this message.
As long as nobody mixes up their measurement system!!!!!
LOL!! Yes that's right. I had forgotten about that. What mission was that? Was it before or after they launched this probe in 1997?
It was after, IIRC it was the previous mission before the current one, about 1999. It was supposed to be an orbiter to map the planet in more detail then has been done to date.
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I'm hyped as well - Sci Am did a great overview of the project goals last issue if anybody's interested.
As for life, I'm hopeful - but I doubt this mission will be able to find anything (and that anything it might find will be inconclusive).
Personally I'd consider Saturn itself (or, more likely, Jupiter) to be a more likely place: massive amounts of liquid water under the cloud layers, energy from the planet's immense internal heat sources and lightning. oh, yeah - I'd wager there are some very interesting microbes down there. ;^)
I'm holding out most hope however for the eventual (you know they've got to try!) ice-breaker mission(s) to Eurpoa. the work they're doing/planning for Lake Vostok makes for great reading.
A close friend of mine was an engineer on the Apollo project - so we have discussions about this often. ;^)
Interesting ... I have always thought of the two gas giants as being too hostile and dynamic for life to evolve and take root - not to say that it isn't possible.
Yes - the Eurpoa mission ... very intriguing and exciting prospects for the search for life there. That mission is so far down the road - I hope it actually happens. It even excites me to think of how life has evolved in Lake Vostok. Have you heard if the test probe for this is being built yet or is it still in the planning stages?
- Greg
PS: "Sci Am" ? Magazine?
----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Davis To: CF-Community Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:20 PM Subject: RE: Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn!
I'm hyped as well - Sci Am did a great overview of the project goals last issue if anybody's interested.
As for life, I'm hopeful - but I doubt this mission will be able to find anything (and that anything it might find will be inconclusive).
Personally I'd consider Saturn itself (or, more likely, Jupiter) to be a more likely place: massive amounts of liquid water under the cloud layers, energy from the planet's immense internal heat sources and lightning. oh, yeah - I'd wager there are some very interesting microbes down there. ;^)
I'm holding out most hope however for the eventual (you know they've got to try!) ice-breaker mission(s) to Eurpoa. the work they're doing/planning for Lake Vostok makes for great reading.
A close friend of mine was an engineer on the Apollo project - so we have discussions about this often. ;^)
Arthur C. Clark gave some great takes on the possibilities of life on Jupiter and Saturn. It would be great if his animated and living gas dirigibles turned out to be real. It would really make him a real prognosticator.
larry
At 05:34 PM 6/4/2004, you wrote:>Jim,>
Interesting ... I have always thought of the two gas giants as being too >hostile and dynamic for life to evolve and take root - not to say that it >isn't possible.>
Yes - the Eurpoa mission ... very intriguing and exciting prospects for >the search for life there. That mission is so far down the road - I hope >it actually happens. It even excites me to think of how life has evolved >in Lake Vostok. Have you heard if the test probe for this is being built >yet or is it still in the planning stages?>
- Greg>
PS: "Sci Am" ? Magazine?>
----- Original Message -----> From: Jim Davis> To: CF-Community> Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 4:20 PM> Subject: RE: Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn!>
I'm hyped as well - Sci Am did a great overview of the project goals last> issue if anybody's interested.>
As for life, I'm hopeful - but I doubt this mission will be able to find> anything (and that anything it might find will be inconclusive).>
Personally I'd consider Saturn itself (or, more likely, Jupiter) to be a> more likely place: massive amounts of liquid water under the cloud layers,> energy from the planet's immense internal heat sources and lightning. oh,> yeah - I'd wager there are some very interesting microbes down there. ;^)>
I'm holding out most hope however for the eventual (you know they've got to> try!) ice-breaker mission(s) to Eurpoa. the work they're doing/planning for> Lake Vostok makes for great reading.>
A close friend of mine was an engineer on the Apollo project - so we have> discussions about this often. ;^)>
Interesting ... I have always thought of the two gas giants as being too
hostile and >dynamic for life to evolve and take root - not to say that it isn't possible.
See my response to Larry as well.
The upper atmospheres are harsh, bet very predictable. The planets spin so fast that the coriolis effect rules - Jupiter's "Red Spot" for example is a storm that's lasted centuries at least - perhaps millions of years.
Under the cloud layer there may be vast liquid water (and other volatiles) oceans floating on top of molten metal cores. The spin of the planet could easily set up temperate zones - huge rivers of not-to-cold, not-to-warm water circulating throughout the planet.
The total volume capable of sustaining (highly specialized) life on Jupiter could be several hundred times that of Earth.
Yes - the Eurpoa mission ... very intriguing and exciting prospects for the
search for life >there. That mission is so far down the road - I hope it actually happens. It even excites >me to think of how life has evolved in Lake Vostok. Have you heard if the test probe for >this is being built yet or is it still in the planning stages?
Last I heard still planning - but some very interesting planning!
Most designs I've heard of are still essentially boring torpedoes that would try to melt or drill their way through the ice while paying out a communications/power line to the lander/relay station above.
The big concern for both Vostok and Europa is possible contamination from stowaway bacteria. Nobody wants to crack Vostok until they've sorted that problem out completely.
PS: "Sci Am" ? Magazine?
"Scientific American" - great mag, much of it's available online at www.sciam.com.
Jim Davis
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Jochem van Dieten 7 June 2004 18:23:43 [ permanent link ]
Ian Skinner wrote:>
But, I mean really what is the ratio of people who use metric to those > of who don't?
Do the current numbers matter? Or is the thing that matters that more and more countries are using it and in twenty years the answer will either be "Everyone uses it" or "Everyone but the US uses it"?
I think at this stage its Everyone but the US and the incredibly advanced country of Botswana are still on the imperial system.
larry
-----Original Message-----> From: Jochem van Dieten [mailto:jochemd@oli.tudelft.nl] > Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 11:24 AM> To: CF-Community> Subject: Re: Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn!>
Ian Skinner wrote:> >
But, I mean really what is the ratio of people who use > metric to those> > of who don't? >
Do the current numbers matter?> Or is the thing that matters that more and more countries are > using it and in twenty years the answer will either be > "Everyone uses it" or "Everyone but the US uses it"?>
Do the current numbers matter? Or is the thing that matters that more and more countries are using it and in twenty years the answer will either be "Everyone uses it" or "Everyone but the US uses it"?
Jochem
Actually, I thought we were pretty close to "Everyone but the US uses it" or at least "Every industrial nation who really matters but the US uses it".
I was in the 3rd grade in ~1976 and I remember the big US conversion push of that era. It was done so badly, at least as it came down to me. They where trying to explain the metric system as it relates to our English system. And it is just so silly to try an remember that a centimeter is 0.3937008 inches. You just need to know a centimeter is about |.....| this long (very rough estimate to make a point).
Oh well, I still use English measurements because nobody around me would understand me if I didn't.
Ian
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