Barnes said during a presentation held on March 17 at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference that the waves Cassini saw are probably no taller than 2 centimeters (0.78 inches), adding that they are the only things to disturb the otherwise perfectly flat surface of Titans seas and lakes. It is entirely possible that studies conducted over the next few years will reveal additional hints of waves on the Saturnine moon. Titan is currently emerging from winter and heading towards spring. As winds pick up, more and more waves may develop on its seas, and Cassini will be there to see them. “Titan may be beginning to stir. Oceanography is no longer just an Earth science,” comments planetary scientist Ralph Lorenz, who is based at the Johns Hopkins Universitys Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The finding comes shortly after Cassini celebrated its 100th flyby of the moon. The probe was launched into space aboard a Titan IV delivery system from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, on October 15, 1997. The spacecraft achieved orbital insertion around Saturn on July 1, 2004, and it has been studying the gas giant, its ring system, and its moons ever since. Its primary mission was supposed to last just 4 years and end in 2008, but several extensions have seen to it that Cassini remains operational around Saturn until at least 2017. NASA reserves the option to extend the flight even further, depending on spacecraft health and fuel availability.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 16:06:05 +0000
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