Thursday, April 27, 2017

Cassini Captures Closest Images of Saturn's Atmosphere | NASA


This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn's atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view was captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its first Grand Finale dive past the planet on April 26, 2017.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

NASA:  Cassini Captures Closest Images of Saturn's Atmosphere


The Grand Finale dive is a bit of a stretch since Cassini won't actually burn up in the atmosphere until September.  Even so, there's great coolness in this picture since what's this with a black hole in the atmosphere.  This must be at one of the poles so maybe that means when Cassini does eventually crash into the atmosphere NASA will send it to where the winds are likely to be lowest.  The curiosity with NASA I'm sure is how deep it will get but don't forget the Cassini spacecraft is traveling at orbital velocity; it's going to burn.  The question is how much NASA will capture before it fries.

There could be some exciting knowledge coming from this and it's likely light on the potential for finding BEMs (i.e. Bug-Eyed Monsters) but there's always the hope.  Maybe the Saturnian Sky Dwellers live high up in the atmosphere at the poles since they enjoy the low winds and are safe from the threats which exist at lower levels.

Ed:  what do they eat?

Sunbeams and stardust, mate.  It's poetry.  Roll with it.

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