Saturn and Jupiter

As I wiped the sleep from my eyes a little before sunrise this morning, I gazed out my south-facing window and saw two bright objects in the sky. There was blazing beauty to each of them and together they took my breath away. I thought one was Sirius, until I did my research and realized I was looking at the shining glory of Saturn on the left and Jupiter on the right.[1] Such splendour, such sublime majesty in these two planets.

I thought about our own planet in crisis with a virus running amok across the globe. I thought about the grandeur and sterility of each of Saturn and Jupiter. As far as we know, there are no viruses, no bacteria, and no life on these planets. There are storms, of epic proportion, there is dust, there are rocks, there are gases, both volatile and inert, there is sunlight and shadow. All of this has been going on in one form or another for decades, centuries, and millennia. There is a timeless purity to what is going on with these two planets. Processes happen and storms come and go[2] and yet these planets are changeless. There is no global warming caused by the impact of one or another species, there are no pandemics, and no wars.

God has protected these planets from the impact of all such catastrophes and given them over to their own changes and movements. These planets are remarkably ordered by the principles of physics, chemistry, and gravity. Yet, if you were to watch them from a close vantage point, they might appear chaotic and out of control. 

Today, as I watch them from afar, I am reminded that there are places of pristine purity, protected by the huge gulf between humans and these holy places. We have not yet sullied the stars. Annie Dillard says that we have indeed damaged many of the holy places here on earth.

“It is difficult to undo our own damage, and to recall to our presence that which we have asked to leave. It is hard to desecrate a grove and change your mind. The very holy mountains are keeping mum. We doused the burning bush and cannot rekindle it; we are lighting matches in vain under every green tree.”

― Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters, Harper Perennial, 2013. 

Yet, Saturn and Jupiter give us hope of places not yet seen that are still holy, pure, and unsullied. Let us cling to the hope of one day seeing the holy places of God.

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[1] Don’t worry, they are still social distancing. They only look like they are close to each other from this angle.

[2] Some storms have persisted for hundreds of years.

TESS

If I were to go back to school to take more courses, I think I might take a few courses in orbital mathematics. The number of interesting orbits around masses in space has captured my imagination. Take for example the orbit of the latest NASA orbital space telescope, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite). The following graphic shows the path as TESS orbits between the earth and moon, checking in with NASA at regular intervals in its 13.7-day revolutions.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/launch-tess-nasa-boost-search-exoplanets

TESS will be launched April 16, 2018 and will be NASA’s latest space-telescope. It will spend much of its time looking for planets outside of our solar system. Kepler, a similar space-telescope identified more than 5,000 potential exo-planets and TESS is expected to find even more and will focus on finding potentially habitable planets. Once enough potentially habitable planets have been found, scientists can begin to focus on the most promising planets for potential colonization. Of course, none of this will be easy since even the closest of these planets will be several hundred light years away. Someone needs to begin to work on that Warp-Drive to make it possible to quickly visit some of these distant planets.

Cassini

Recently I wrote a sad lament for the Schiaparelli Lander, even as I praised those who had successfully inserted the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) into a near-perfect orbit around Mars. This orbiting communications relay and atmospheric laboratory will serve NASA scientists for the next several years and will eventually support a European Space Agency (ESA) rover on the planetary surface. TGO and the Schiaparelli lander had traveled to the Red Planet together but the lander’s fate was sealed when its landing rockets fired improperly.

On the other hand, NASA’s Cassini–Huygens spacecraft was launched in 1997 and arrived in orbit around Saturn in 2004 where both portions of the craft performed flawlessy. As planned, the Huygens lander made a successful touchdown on one of Saturn’s moons (Titan) and transmitted data throughout the landing and approximately 90 minutes of its initial time on the surface. This made Huygens the first Earth vehicle to land on the surface of any planet or moon beyond the asteroid belt of our solar system. Cassini went on to explore Titan and other moons before settling into an orbit around Saturn.

Since leaving Earth in 1997, Cassini has been an amazing spacecraft. Launched in a time when 1-mega-pixel cameras were state-of-the-art, that was the best high-resolution camera with which it could be equipped. Now, most cell-phones carry an 8 to 12 mega-pixel camera. Such are the changes that come with a 20-year mission. Cassini was the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, and it has been able to map Saturn’s magnetosphere, has found new Saturnine moons, and studied Saturn’s atmosphere and rings with greater precision than ever before. But, the space-vehicle is getting old. In terms of how much space debris, radiation, and other hazards it has seen, relatively speaking, it is older than the last incarnation of Spock. Automobiles that are 20 years old and older are often considered antique and show up in enthusiast’s collections; this 20-year-old vehicle is still out there serving well.

Numerous remote repairs, software updates, and “farmer-fixes” have had to be performed on this machine to keep it on track; and, by the marvels of contemporary engineering, the technicians at NASA have indeed kept it on its mission. Cassini has two main engines and is still using its primary engine, but those who work on this machine had to switch it over to the back-up attitude-control-thrusters when the first set began to fail several months ago.

There is still an end of the road for even a highly successful mission like Cassini-Huygens. At the end of this month, Cassini’s thrusters will maneuver it into a position that will allow for 22 orbits close to the rings, through gaps between rings, and finally between the Saturnine atmosphere and the inner-most ring. As a Grand Finale (a term actually being used for the final days of this spacecraft), Cassini will plunge into the atmosphere in September of 2017 where it will be vaporized by the heat of friction and crushed by the pressure of the atmosphere. It will indeed be a magnificent curtain-call for one of the most successful space missions of all time.

Links used in researching this article:

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/the-journey/timeline/#the-grand-finale

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/the-journey/timeline

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huygens_(spacecraft)#Landing_site

https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/2947/care-and-feeding-of-an-aging-spacecraft/

An interesting hexagonal polar vortex at the north pole of Saturn:

Proxima b

 

There has been much speculation in recent days about the possible discovery of a habitable planet in the Proxima Centauri solar system. Just as our star, called the Sun, has a collection of planets in orbit around it, the closest star to our Sun may have planets in orbit around it. In the August 25, 2016 edition of Nature, a team of researchers presents evidence suggesting that a planet with mass slightly larger than Earth (1.3 times the mass of earth) is cozied up to the Proxima Centauri star in a tight 11.2 day orbit. Think about how fast a year would go by on that planet. (Personally, I am glad that I was born on Earth rather than this planet since an orbit like that would make me more than 1,800 years old.) The new planet has been given the uninspiring name “Proxima b.”

Now, of course, many other planets, have been discovered around other stars in our universe and so Proxima b is not novel in that sense. What makes this planet particularly notable is the fact that it might exist within a narrow window of conditions known as the habitable zone. Initial evidence suggests that the temperature on the planet might be suitable for liquid water on the surface. It may have an atmosphere and there may be portions of the planet on which it may be a reasonable temperature for life (as we know it) to survive. The tight orbit suggests that it may be tidally locked[1] (meaning that it always shows the same face to the sun – as our moon always shows the same face to the earth) and so one side of the planet is in perpetual day and one side perpetual night. This is certainly a strike against it being a habitable world.

Of course news like this caused quite a stir and led to a lot of conjecture about how we might visit or colonize Proxima b. But, let’s make a few things clear, in astronomical distances, this potential planet is very close: only 4 light years away. This means that a photon of light traveling from Proxima Centauri takes only 4 years to get here. Some stars are so far away that they take thousands or billions of years to get to us. But, using todays propulsion methods which can achieve speeds of 0.005% of the speed of light, if you launched a very fast ship toward Proxima b, it would get there in about 80,000 years[2]. So, don’t let anyone fool you into booking your next vacation on an exotic planet in the Proxima Centauri system. You won’t live long enough to get there and your rocket would not have sufficient fuel to make the trip. Other, faster, modes of transportation have been proposed but those are still in development and right now are closer to science fiction than true science.

Still, a science nerd can dream. Such discoveries do spur the imagination. Imagine if we could find a way to travel at 20 percent of the speed of light and get there in a few decades. Could this be a place where humans might extend our reach and colonize another planet? What might we find on such a planet? Or, are the distances just too great to ever get a good look at Proxima b?

Works Cited

Crockett, Christopher. "Signs of planet detected around sun’s nearest neighbor star." Science News. 08 24, 2016. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/planet-detected-nearest-neighbor-star-proxima-centauri?tgt=nr (accessed 08 29, 2016).

Siefried, Tom. "Visits to Proxima Centauri’s planet are probably millennia away." Science News. 08 25, 2016. https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/context/visits-proxima-centauri-planet-probably-millennia-away?tgt=nr (accessed 08 29, 2016).

Wall, Mike. "Found! Potentially Earth-Like Planet at Proxima Centauri Is Closest Ever." Space.com. 08 24, 2016. http://www.space.com/33834-discovery-of-planet-proxima-b.html (accessed 08 31, 2016).

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[1] Wall, Mike. "Found! Potentially Earth-Like Planet at Proxima Centauri Is Closest Ever." Space.com. 08 24, 2016. http://www.space.com/33834-discovery-of-planet-proxima-b.html (accessed 08 31, 2016)

[2] “Visits to Proxima Centauri’s planet are probably millennia away;” Science News, August 25, 2016, http://bit.ly/2bx1uyX; accessed 2016-08-29.

Angels, Galaxies, and Pins

How many planets would fit into a Milky Way galaxy? This is certainly not a classic philosophical question like, “How many angels would fit on the head of a pin?” Yet, this question does have philosophical implications if you consider why planet hunters hunt planets. Some, certainly search for planets in our known galaxy because planets are there and we want to learn more about them; but, many who search for exoplanets (planets outside our solar system), do so because they are interested in the possibility of life on other planets; intelligent or otherwise.

The Keplar Space Telescope has recently catalogued 1284 more planets,[1] bringing the total number of discovered planets to 2325.  The size of these planets ranges from sub-Mercury to super-Jupiter in size. Some are rocky, some are gaseous, and some just might be habitable. Bob McDonald in a CBC News blog[2] suggests that there are likely more planets in our galaxy than there are stars. Take a look at the night sky and think upon that for a few moments. There may be as many as 10,000,000,000 planets in our galaxy alone. There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the known universe. As we consider only the planets in our galaxy we soon realize that they are too distant by today’s transportation methods for us to visit them with anything more than a telescope, but they are still of interest. Could any of these planets have indigenous life? Would life there be water and carbon-based? Would it be DNA based? Or might it be so foreign in its composition that we would struggle to recognize it as life? Might it exist in liquid water, on dry land, or in the gaseous atmosphere of one of these exoplanets? Would we see signs of communication among creatures of common ancestry? Might we see foliage changes as seasons progressed? What could we look for as signs of life; or signs of intelligent life? Philosophically, the number of planets that would fit into a smallish galaxy appears to be a worthier question than those regarding pins and angels.

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[1] “Kepler telescope doubles its count of known exoplanets: latest data confirm nine more worlds in ‘habitable’ zone”; Science News, May 10, 2016;

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/kepler-telescope-doubles-its-count-known-exoplanets

[2] “Finding habitable planets is one thing, finding life quite another” Bob McDonald, blog at CBC News Technology and Science; 2016-05-13; accessed 2016-05-14.

 http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bob-mcdonald-search-for-habitable-planets-1.3579830

The Future of Space Exploration

Jupiter and Europa

The 15^th to 18^th centuries were a time of unprecedented exploration of our world. Europeans, with a healthy sense of curiosity, and driven by a desire to conquer new worlds, were the primary instigators. Today, we live in a similar time of exploration as countries and private corporations turn their eyes to our solar system. Led by many organizations from around the world, there is a greater sense of cooperation in this age of discovery. The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), Russian Federal Space Agency (RFSA), Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are all making a mark in space exploration.

NASA is presently developing an Asteroid Redirect Mission in which they will identify, capture, and redirect a near-Earth asteroid. The goal is to capture an asteroid and place it in orbit around the moon so that scientists might study it for generations to come.[1] NASA also plans to send a mission to Europa, one of the large moons orbiting Jupiter. It takes 7 to 10 years to reach the Jovian system and the plan is to launch in the early 2020s, so don’t expect results immediately, but Europa is considered one of the more likely locations for simple extra-terrestrial life because of its large frozen ocean.[2]

ESA too has plans for a Jovian mission. Their spacecraft will visit three of Jupiter’s moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. The rationale for this trip is that all three moons likely contain water and might support life.[3] ESA has also expressed interest in establishing a lunar base on our own moon that would serve as a research base, much like the International Space Station. It would make a great jumping off point for even greater space exploration that might include missions to other star systems.[4]

In 2013, the Chinese National Space Agency was the first agency to soft land a spacecraft on the moon since the Russians last did in 1976 (Luna 24). CNSA presently has a lunar rover called Chang'e 3 on the moon’s service and they have stated that they plan many more lunar missions including some sample return missions.[5]

JAXA, in collaboration with ESA, will soon launch a Mercury orbiter that will study the magnetosphere of that planet.[6] Because of its proximity to the sun, and the difficulty of shielding instrumentation from extreme radiation, little is known about this planet; and the JAXA mission will be highly significant.

All of these missions will be of great interest as we watch them unfold over the next decades. I plan to watch each with great expectation, starting with the ExoMars show that has already begun.

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[1] http://www.nasa.gov/about/whats_next.html

[2] http://www.nasa.gov/jpl/nasas-europa-mission-team-joins-forces-for-the-first-time

[3] http://all-that-is-interesting.com/europe-space

[4] http://all-that-is-interesting.com/europe-space

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_3

[6] http://global.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/bepi/index.html

A Great Disturbance in the Force

There may actually be a ninth planet in our solar system after all. Astronomers at Caltech recently presented evidence for a large, gas-giant, planet in a 20,000 year orbit around our sun. They have been quoted as saying, "We have felt a great disturbance in the force." This only adds to the crazy nature of this announcement; but they were not referring to Luke Skywalker's famed Force, but rather the gravitational force that keeps all of the planets and dwarf planets in motion around our sun. Their research suggests that the existence of such a planet, in this large elliptical orbit, is one of the best explanations for the measured orbits of the dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt. Their argument is presented in an enlightening YouTube video and one of the scientists has been interviewed by CBC's Bob McDonald on the program "Quirks and Quarks." The mass of the planet is said to be greater than that of Earth but less than the mass of Neptune and it is perpetually "very distant" in the solar system. It has not yet been seen with a telescope; but is inferred from its interaction with the features of the Kuiper Belt.

What are the implications of such a discovery? Where should we point our telescopes to begin to look for this planet? There are certain constraints on where this planet could be, but that still leaves a large area to be scanned. The current position in its orbit will be unknown until it can be visualized. This research also invites questions related to the planet’s proximity to other planets in our solar system. What perturbations (dare I say, “disturbances in the force”) will be noted when this planet swings by after a long journey away from the other planets and dwarf planets in our solar system? Might it have noticeable effects on the physics, chemistry, and biology of Earth? Gravity is a relatively weak force but its influence acts over very large distances.

For now, I congratulate Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin and other contributing researchers for their work in this area. May they inspire many more “planet-hunters.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/9th-planet-x-1.3412070

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/distant-planet-may-lurk-far-beyond-neptune

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6poHQ2h00ZA

"Yesterday I missed my exit, on my way to Sears" - Joe Diffie

Have you ever had one of those days where you missed your freeway exit and had to take an alternative route? The process can be quite time consuming and often adds several minutes to the anticipated travel time. It is hard not to get frustrated. Of course, such emotions only complicate things and make the trip even less efficient. Recently, a team of Japanese aerospace engineers learned first hand that, in space exploration, one little missed exit can lead to many years of extra work. In 2010, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency was excitedly watching as their Akatsuki probe was moving rapidly toward Venus. All was well until the main engine failed to come online and make the appropriate course correction. The result of this, missed exit on the cosmic freeway, was five years of unplanned wandering in the wilderness. Not only did it mean that Akatsuki would be late for her rendezvous with the “planet of love,” it also meant that, like Icarus, Akatsuki flew too near the sun and singed her wings.

What I like about this story is that the team did not give up on the mission. They knew that this “miss” meant the probability of success was small; but they did not lose focus and they kept seeking solutions to the problem. They still could not rely upon the main engine but knew that every five years Akatsuki would be close to Venus. This would be their window of opportunity. They would use the attitude control thrusters to position the craft for Venus gravity capture. On December 7 at 8:51 am (Japan Standard Time) the gamble paid off and Akatsuki is now in orbit around our “sister planet.” The scientific mission can resume. The probe has been scorched by the sun but remains functional and will soon begin to take continuous pictures of the atmosphere and surface of Venus.

This reclamation of the mission is a testament to tenacity and problem solving. Lesser engineers might have given up on the Akatsuki probe and begun work on a replacement vehicle. These individuals continued to work as a team and redeemed what might otherwise have been seen as a failure. There is something very impressive about this work. May they now enjoy the fruit of their labour as they gather data and explore further questions related to this closest neighbouring planet.

Other Works Cited:

“Japanese spacecraft reaches Venus — five years late”; Science News, December 8, 2015; https://www.sciencenews.org/article/japanese-spacecraft-reaches-venus-—-five-years-late.

“That Road Not Taken,” Joe Diffie, from the album, Third Rock From the Sun;  Listen to it online here. Songwriters: Kelly Casey and Deborah Beasley, Published by The Bicycle Music Company. http://www.metrolyrics.com/that-road-not-taken-lyrics-joe-diffie.html

The Dance of the Planets

 (Photo credit: Universe Today)

I have continued to enjoy the movements of Venus, Jupiter, and Mars. This particular conjunction of planets has now inspired my imagination for several weeks. Each morning I look to the east around five or six am to see if it is clear enough to see this amazing display. The relative arrangement of the three planets and the bright star, Regulus, are slightly different each day and change from hour to hour. The rate at which each one rises in the morning is dependent not only on the spin of our earth but also the movement of the planets in their orbits relative to earth’s position in her orbit around the sun. I am intrigued each day to see where each planet appears relative to the others. I am always amazed by the slightly red hue of Mars as seen from earth. This red colour is thought to be caused by the scattering of red photons in the atmosphere of Mars. The soil of Mars contains much iron that turns to a rusty red colour due to oxidation and the dust of this red iron is kicked up into her atmosphere by surface winds.

I can see why the Psalmist was inspired to write poetry about his observations of the night sky. May we never lose our sense of awe about the planets and stars.

Psalm 8 (NLT)

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.

¹ O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
    Your glory is higher than the heavens.
² You have taught children and infants
    to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
    and all who oppose you.

³ When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
⁴ what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them?
⁵ Yet you made them only a little lower than God
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You gave them charge of everything you made,
    putting all things under their authority—
⁷ the flocks and the herds
    and all the wild animals,
⁸ the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
    and everything that swims the ocean currents.

⁹ O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

(Photo credit: Universe Today)

Venus, Mars, Regulus, and Jupiter Are Alright Tonight

Starship 21ZNA9

A good friend of mine

Studies the stars

Venus and Mars

Are alright tonight

"Venus and Mars" lyrics by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney; published by MPL Communications, Inc.

This morning, as I went for my before-sunrise-run, I was greeted by three planets and a bright star, in the eastern sky. The four points of light were Venus, highest and brightest of the four, Regulus, a bright star only 79 light years away, Mars, the red planet, and Jupiter, just above the horizon. They made an inverted vee shape as if they were flying in formation. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Conjunctions of this nature always get me dreaming about space-travel. In my mind’s eye it looked possible to just hop in a plane and fly straight to whichever spot I chose.

Venus would provide a warm but cloudy holiday with lots of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere. Regulus would be a long journey, by any mode of transportation, and what we would find there is completely unknown. Mars is becoming the most well-known planet other than earth with the many probes, rovers, and orbiters sending back reams of scientific data. Just this past week it was learned that Mars does indeed have liquid water on its surface at certain times of its solar year. We would have a cold holiday on Mars and would have to bring along our own oxygen for breathing. Jupiter would perhaps be the most exotic vacation destination. Jupiter is a gas giant made up of clouds of frozen hydrogen and helium gas high above a core of liquid metallic hydrogen. The moons around Jupiter would be even more interesting to visit. Io, the largest of the moons, is a hotbed of volcanoes and bubbling pits of molten rock. Europa is covered with a frozen water crust. Perhaps one could have the most fantastic skating party of all time on the surface of Europa.

All of this went through my mind as I ran six kilometers on this boring old terrestrial ball. I turned and ran toward a very bright moon making its way toward setting in the west and I scared a few jack-rabbits with the padding of my athletic shoes. It was a great morning on Earth; but I was dreaming of spending time on other planets. How long will it be before we have colonies on Mars, or the moon, or Venus, or Europa? It is important that we continue to cultivate a desire for exploration that will lead us to other planets, moons, and stars. It is this inquisitive, pioneering, explorative spirit that makes us truly human.

Tiny Cells and Large Planets

In the last week, two articles caught my attention and contributed to my sense of wonder. One article spoke of new microscope techniques for viewing very small chemical processes inliving cells. The other article was about images taken of very large objects: the planets and dwarf planets in our solar system. We live in an amazing era in which we are able to see both ends of this spectrum of size. Now of course, there are objects much larger than planets that we can see: large stars, cloud nebulae, and galaxies; and there are objects much smaller than cells, some of which we can see and some of which we can infer from the properties of matter: DNA strands, individual molecules, atoms, electrons, and quarks. For thousands of years, humans sat out under the skies and looked at the sun, moon, and stars and wondered what they were and what they would look like close up. This mystery of the heavens struck people with awe and led them to theological and philosophical thinking. They also looked down at their bodies and noted that they were “fearfully and wonderfully made.” When they cut their hands and saw blood they wondered what it was and how the body healed itself.

Today, we have much more collective data than our great-grandparents and ancestors before that. Yet, there is still much mystery in the world and in our universe. To what theological and philosophical thoughts are we now inclined? Do we have as much wisdom as our ancestors? Sometimes, because we can explain that Jupiter is a planet and not a star, and can understand how it stays in orbit around our sun, we think that we have no more need for explanation. We might think that we know most of what there is to know about Jupiter. What of the deeper questions? Why is Jupiter there? Philosophically, we might ask, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” Theologically, we might ask, “Why is there a Jupiter – since, as far as we know, there is nothing living out there?” Why, indeed, are there other galaxies filled with billions of stars and billions of planets?

There are some in the world who would suggest that because we can see biological processes working in a cell and can explain how a living being functions that we have no need of philosophy or theology or a reference to a God to understand the nature of our existence. Certainly this attitude is short-sighted. Even if we were to adequately explain the essence of life and consciousness, being able to imagine a world in which no God was necessary does not preclude His existence. I would suggest that we are still far from an adequate understanding of what constitutes life and we have barely scratched the surface of an understanding of consciousness. We see much, we have much information, we have a great deal of understanding; yet, what we don’t see, don’t know, and don’t understand, far outweighs what we do see, know, and understand.

It makes sense that we express a large degree of humility in recognizing that we don’t have all of the answers. Perhaps the best way forward is to develop our best understanding of who we are, why we are here, and whether or not there is a God to whom we answer. We can each lay out principles by which we will live while looking to others for guidance. Then, we humbly hold to these understandings and principles of life until such time as things shake us from that approach to life and we find that we must embrace a different understanding that better fits our present knowledge.

There is little room for hubris or self-sufficiency. Every person on this planet must admit to incomplete knowledge of life and the universe. May we rejoice in what we do know and may we humbly walk alongside each other teaching and learning as we go.

Cassini and Hyperion

The Cassini spacecraft recently completed a close flyby of Hyperion, one of the moons of Saturn, and sent back some amazing pictures. Hyperion is certainly one of the more odd shaped moons in our solar system. Whereas people used to think Earth's moon was made of cheese, Hyperion truly looks like Swiss cheese. The surface and interior of the moon are filled with pores and tunnels giving it the appearance of a sponge. In fact, much of the planet is made of water ice with very little solid rock. There are so many holes in the moon that if you could find a pool of water large enough, say our own Atlantic Ocean, the moon would float with about half of its bulk sticking out of the water. Hyperion is known to have an erratic rotation. It wobbles on its own axis and its orbit about the planet is eccentric and highly influenced by its proximity to Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

The Cassini robotic spacecraft itself has had an amazingly successful mission in space. Originally launched in October of 1997, the spacecraft is now in its second mission extension which will see it perform active scientific observations through 2017. On its way to Saturn, Cassini flew past Venus and Jupiter, relaying information on each of those planets before achieving orbit around Saturn in July of 2004. In December of 2004, Cassini released the Huygens probe which successfully landed on the surface of Titan, sending back 350 pictures of this large moon. This latest flyby of Hyperion is the last for that moon. Now Cassini sets its sites on other moons in the Saturnian system. In 10 days Cassini will fly past Dione and send back images of that moon. Today, she is in position to get a good look at Enceladus and the outer rings of Saturn (see the image below).

We live in a time when it is possible to learn much from the exploration of our solar system. I am thankful for the scientists and technicians at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that use their imaginations to design and execute such amazing missions to the outer reaches of our solar system.

Works cited:
Cassini–Huygens in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens

Hyperion (moon) in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_(moon)

NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Saturn, Cassini, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/

Science News, "Cassini gets last look at Saturn’s spongy satellite Hyperion," 2015-06-04, https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/cassini-gets-last-look-saturn%E2%80%99s-spongy-satellite-hyperion?tgt=nr

You can click on these images for a larger view.

Not Too Long Ago

When a person starts an article with "not too long ago" it is a good idea to check to see who is saying this. Paleontologists study fossils and life forms that existed 3 billion years ago up to approximately 200,000 years ago. Thus, to a paleontologist, "not too long ago" might mean 200,000 years ago. Archeologists, on the other hand, typically study the life, culture, and tools of human societies with an emphasis upon the emergence of humans 200,000 years ago up to the time when written languages developed around 6000 years ago. So, "not too long ago" to an archeologist will refer to more recent events than the events to which a paleontologist might refer. But when an astronomer says "not too long ago," as in a recent article in Science News, their time scale is very different again. Astronomers deal with events which happened 13.8 billion years ago right up until our present time. Thus, "not too long ago" in the mindset of an astronomer can mean something like 350 million years ago. Also, because of the large distances which light must travel before an astronomer can detect stellar events, they must be content with seeing events which happened many years before they witness them. If a star is 5,000 light years away from our sun, the light reaching us now and the events unfolding before our eyes started 5,000 years ago. It is like peering back in time.

The recent Science News article speaks of the work of scientists who are closely studying a galaxy referred to as SPGC 6240, "which sits 350 million light-years from Earth in the southern constellation Hydrus."1 This galaxy "recently" collided with another galaxy sending out intergalactic shock waves through the universe, causing a complete rearrangement of the structures of both galaxies, and birthing many new stars. Astronomers watch such events with the collective fascination and horror of pedestrians observing a car accident. The havoc caused in each galaxy allows astronomers to "see" the immense energies generated and the resulting gravitational entanglements of stars and solar systems. But, "recently", and "not too long ago" in this case refer to events that happened more than 350 million years in the past. That was a time when there was primitive life on earth but before God had created humans! Galaxies and points of light were slamming into each other while God looked on with joy and expectancy of the things yet to come.


1 https://www.sciencenews.org/article/galaxy%E2%80%99s-petal-structures-came-collision