IES-04 Saturn Info 1

7/29/2019 IES-04 Saturn Info 1

1/14

Click to edit Master subtitle style

2/24/13

Saturn

Details


2/14

2/24/13

General Information Galelio (1600) discovered Saturn and prepared maps

Scientific Missions: Pioneer Flyby(1979), Voyager1(1980),Voyager2 (1981), Pioneer 11 (Complex magnetic field,Discovery of F-ring)

Hubble Telescope Saturns atmosphere, Great white spot(Recurrence of 30 yr period)

Density: 0.7 gm/cc; Composition: H (80%), He(18%), O, Fe, Ne,N&S


3/14

2/24/13

Satellites

Voyager 1 (High resolution pictures of Mimas,Dione andRhea), Voyager2 (Iapetus, Hyperion, Enceladus and Tethys)

Dione (1120 km dia), Rhea, Tethys (1048 km), Mimas (394km dia), Enceladus (502 km dia), Titan and Phoebe

Titan resembles pre-mordial Earth. Presence of organiccompounds in a chemically rich atmosphere High

priority

Interiors of both Jupiter & Saturn to be similar with rockycores.


4/14

2/24/13

Intermediate-size Satellites

Mimas and Enceladus

Mimas heavily cratered, Herschel (130 km across), grooves upto 90km long, 10km wide and 1-2km depth, preserved ancient

cratered surface.

Enceladus- displays younger surface with complex geologichistory with a variety of terrains, including smooth plains, ridges,grabens and cratered regions.

Tectonic processes active Grooves, ridges and plains. Resurfacingevents probably involved eruptions of water, perhaps mixed withammonia or slurries of water ice. Heat source Internal friction

from tidal stresses similar to Io. From


5/14

2/24/13

Tethys and Dione

Outside E ring

Tethys two companions Telesto and Calypso (irregularlyshaped objects of 20km across)

Tethys displays evidence of crustal deformation andresurfacing, Odysseus (an impact crater 400km dia of 40%of dia of satellite), Ithaca Chasma( branching canyon

system more than 1000km long

Dione more dense (1.43 gm/cc) may be more rocky.Largest craters of 200km dia on trailing hemisphere


6/14

2/24/13

Rhea and Iapetus

Rhea (1530km dia), Iapetus ( 1435 kmdia)

Rhea Trailing atmosphere is dark and has wispy markingsand leading atmosphere is uniformly bright; Impact basinsof 320 km dia. Some craters show very bright patches onthe walls; these may be relatively fresh ice depositsexposed by landslides

Iapetus Low density (1.2 gm/cc).Origin of darkmaterial ( coal tar or asphalt/carbonaceouschondrites) is controversial. One model impact craterejecta from on neighbouring satellite dark Phoebe.Another model- eruption locally. Still enigma .


7/14

2/24/13

Small Satellites (25-220kmdia)

Phoebe-outermost saturnian satellite is in retrograde orbitinclined to equatorial plane of Saturn; Carbonaceous material

5 of small satellites inside orbit of Mimas

2 Janusand , Epimetheus co-orbital satellites (orbits arewithin 50km)- remanants of large moon broken apart

2more Pandora and Prometheus (ring shepherds) bracket FRing

3 more Calypso, Telesto and Helene (Lagrangian satellites)- A

small object can have same orbit and speed as a large objectso lon as it maintains a 600 arc ahead of or behind the lar er


8/14

2/24/13

Titan (Larger than Mercury)

45% water ice and 55% rocky material with dense atmosphere(Voyager)

Composition: N (main component) along with ethane, acetylene,ethylene, Hydrogen Cyanide and other carbon-nitrogencomponents complex organic chemicals- orangish smog seen inatmosphere

Surface temp. -1800; probably covered with ethane-methaneocean of depth 1 km.

Cassini (orbiter) to descend a probe in 2004 and radar imaging

system


9/14

2/24/13


10/14

2/24/13


11/14

2/24/13


12/14

2/24/13


13/14

2/24/13


14/14

2/24/13

IES-04 Saturn Info 1

Documents