Spiraling Down The Well

Spiraling Down The Well

Originally shared by Kam-Yung Soh

Sigh...the end is coming. But what a spectacular end to the Cassini Mission. "[Emily Lakdawalla] It's been hard to bring myself to write the following sentence: the Cassini mission ends soon. We're halfway through the "Grand Finale" orbits. Only eleven and a half orbits remain until Cassini meets its fate on September 15. JPL is planning a big press event for the final days of the mission.
[...]
Right now the mission is in an orbit that circles Saturn about every six and a half days. That is a very short orbit for Cassini. It reminds me of one of those coin-funnel "wishing well" devices, where the coins circle faster and faster as they approach the drain. Cassini is now the one circling the drain.
[...]
Most of the science during this period focuses on small-scale structure in Saturn's rings, and detailed features in Saturn's polar aurorae. There is one remaining gravity science orbit, which should help determine the mass of the B ring once and for all. There will be observations of Titan's clouds, and a last look in infrared wavelengths at the warm south polar tiger stripes of Enceladus. And there will be a few final "Kodak Moments" -- images taken purely for their aesthetic and emotional significance."

Image: Fine-scale waves in Saturn's rings Cassini took this photo on June 4, 2017, close to periapsis on its seventh "Grand Finale" orbit, when it passed between the planet and the rings. It has been cleaned of cosmic ray hits and detector noise. NASA / JPL / SSI / Emily Lakdawalla
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2017/0703-cassini-end-preview-preview.html

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