Lecture 7: Saturn

Further reading

• The Cassini mission home page is at "Cassini-Huygens: Mission to Saturn and Titan", http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
• Cassini has produced so many fantastic picures that it's hard to know where to start. One good place is the Cassini Hall of Fame: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/halloffame/
• NASA has produced a free e-book called "The Saturn System Through the Eyes of Cassini", available at https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/the-saturn-system.html
• And another beautiful set of images: http://ciclops.org/view_event/108/In_Celebration_of_Galileo
• Alan Taylor -- the same chap who made the "All Solar System Bodies" image I recommended -- has a selection of his favourite Cassini images at http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/cassinis_continued_mission.html. He's very fond of the weird optical effects when the rings are refracted through the edge of Saturn's atmosphere, but they're certainly a gorgeous collection. If that's not enough, click on the "Previously" links to get more.
• A complete up-to-date list of all of Saturn's satellites can be found at Scott Sheppard's "The Jupiter Satellite Page", http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~sheppard/satellites/ because it's subtitled "Now also the Giant Planet Satellite and Moon Page"
• The Planetary Society has excellent pages about Saturn's rings and moons, at http://www.planetary.org/saturn/rings.html and http://www.planetary.org/saturn/moons.html
• Several articles discussing Robin Canup's model for the formation of the rings: http://www.universetoday.com/75071/saturns-rings-formed-from-large-moons-destruction/ and http://www.space.com/10468-saturn-rings-remains-ripped-moon.html
• We didn't have time to discuss Iapetus in much detail, but there's a fascinating talk by Hal Levison, with more great images, at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~hal/talks/iapetus/DDA/iap000.html
• Great silliness: The Cassini CICLOPS team have written a game, so you can see what it's like playing golf in the differing gravity environments of Saturn's moons. It's surprisingly easy to lose your ball off the moon completely! http://ciclops.org/sector6/golf.php

Source for images

All images of Saturn and its moons are from the NASA Planetary Photo Journal http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/target/Saturn, unless otherwise indicated. I have given the Planetary Image Archive (PIA) number for each image

• Saturn title image: Cassini composite by Mattias Malmer, from APOD 2004 December 25 https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap041225.html
• Spacecraft images: from NASA Solar System Exploration: Spacecraft images http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery.cfm?Category=Spacecraft
• Animation of Cassini's orbit: from Cassini-Huygens Operations https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/585/?category=videos
• Saturn portrait: PIA06193 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06193
• Ring shadows: PIA07772 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07772
• Oblate Saturn: Hubblesite gallery http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/solar_system_collection/pr2001015c/
• Saturn tilting: Hubblesite gallery http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/solar_system_collection/pr2001015a/
• Edge-on view of Saturn's rings: Hubblesite release 24 April 1996 http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/solar-system/1996/1996/16/results/50/
• Saturn at equnox: from APOD http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090930.html and http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap091110.html
• Cassini ring plane crossing: from Astronomy Picture of the Day, 2005 May 4, compiled by Fernando Garcia Navarro, http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050504.html; movie PIA08356 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08356
• Saturn interior: from Courtney Seligman Online Astronomy Text http://cseligman.com/text/planets/saturn.htm
• Saturn's composition: from Journey through the Galaxy: Saturn, http://home.cwru.edu/~sjr16/advanced/saturn.html
• Bands in atmosphere: Hubblesite gallery http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/solar_system_collection/pr1994053a/
• Swirls in atmosphere: PIA08934 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08934
• Polar vortex: PIA08332 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08332
• North pole hexagon: PIA09188 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09188
• North polar clouds: from APOD http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121204.html
• Aurorae: Hubblesite release 7 January 1998 http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1998/05/image/a
• Storm on Saturn: PIA12826 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12826
• Saturn view: PIA05435 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05435
• Voyager view of rings: PIA00335 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00335
• Ring panorama: PIA06175 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06175
• Prometheus and F ring: PIA05402 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05402
• F ring: PIA06098 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06098
• Rings labelled: ESA Cassini-Huygens http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEM7Q6HHZTD_1.html
• Backlit rings: PIA08329 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08329
• Ring views: PIA05421 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05421 and PIA07631 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07631
• Mimas' shadow on the rings: from http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/cassinis_continued_mission.html
• Painting of Saturn's ring particles: by William Hartmann, http://www.psi.edu/hartmann/planets.html
• Prometheus and Pandora: PIA07712 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07712
• Prometheus and Pandora up close: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17207 and https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21055
• Ring shepherding satellites: from Astronomy 121: Saturn by Jim Schombert, http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast121/lectures/lec20.html
• Pan & Prometheus: PIA10468 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10468
• Prometheus strands: PIA10593 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10593
• Propeller Bleriot: PIA20525 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20525
• Ring composition: PIA05075 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05075
• Roche limit: from Wikipedia: Roche Limit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roche_limit
• Tidal destruction of an icy moon: from Crida & Charnoz, "Solar system: Recipe for making Saturn's rings", Nature 468, 903 (2010)
• Collage of Saturn's moons: from https://www.universetoday.com/15383/how-many-moons-does-saturn-have/
• Saturn's moons: ESA Cassini-Huygens http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEM7Q6HHZTD_1.html
• Pandora and Prometheus near F Ring: PIA05393 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05393
• Satellite orbits: from The Giant Planet Satellite and Moon Page http://home.dtm.ciw.edu/users/sheppard/satellites/satsatdata.html
• Leading/trailing hemispheres: Rhea: PIA07554 href=:http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07554 and PIA06575 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06575. Dione: PIA07687 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07687 and PIA08256 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08256. Iapetus: PIA08848 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08848 and PIA08177 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08177
• Janus and Epimetheus: PIA12608 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12602
• Janus in front of Saturn: PIA08296 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08296
• Orbits of Epimetheus and Janus: from Astronomy 121: Saturn by Jim Schombert, http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast121/lectures/epimetheus_and_janus.html and from Lissauer, Goldreich & Tremaine, "Evolution of the Janus-Epimetheus coorbital resonance due to torques from Saturn's rings", Icarus 64 425 (1985)
• Prometheus: PIA07549 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07549
• Pandora: PIA07632 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07632
• Mimas and Herschel: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20523
• Mimas: PIA06258 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06258 and PIA06582 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06582
• Mimas in front of Saturn: PIA06142 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06142
• Enceladus: PIA07709 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07709
• Enceladus north pole region:
• Enceladus surface: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=1431
• Enceladus south pole: PIA07800 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07800
• Enceladus geysers: PIA08386 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08386
• Model for Enceladus geysers: Cassini-Huygens news release 9 March 2006 http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=639
• Sources of the jets: PIA08385 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08385. Damascus Sulcus: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11125
• Enceladus fractures: PIA11133 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11133
• Enceladus and Saturn's magnetic field: Cassini-Huygens news release 22 March 2007 http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=2545
• Ocean on Enceladus: from http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/newsreleases/newsrelease20140403/
• Tethys: PIA07738 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07738
• Odysseus basin on Tethys: PIA07693 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07693
• Dione in front of Saturn: PIA07744 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07744
• Rhea: PIA08189 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08189
• Rhea occults Saturn: from Astronomy Picture of the Day 11 July 2006 http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060711.html
• Saturn moon ballet: from http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/video/videodetails/?videoID=206
• Titan: PIA06230 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06230
• Titan, Epimetheus and ring: from http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/cassinis_continued_mission.html
• Titan's atmosphere: from "Peeking at Saturn" https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_798.html
• Titan atmosphere model: Cassini visuals http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/media/cassini-102504/visuals.html and interior https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/titan20120223L.html
• Images of Titan's surface: Cassini-Huygens release 12 December 2006 http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press-release-details.cfm?newsID=709
• Radar images of seas: PIA17031 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17031 and PIA09102 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09102
• Huygens descent through Titan's atmosphere: from Cassini-Huygens Video, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videos/video-details.cfm?videoID=79
• Rain on Titan: painting by Mark Garlick, from Astronomy Picture of the Day 2 August 2006 http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060802.html
• Dunes on Titan: PIA08738 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08738 and PIA03567 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03567
• Methane cycle: from Lunine & Atreya, "The methane cycle on Titan", Nature Geoscience 1, 159 (2008)
• Nitrogen ratios in Titan's atmosphere: from The Planetary Society, 28 October 2004,http://www.planetary.org/news/2004/cassini_titan00a_results1_1028.html
• Hyperion: PIA07740 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07740
• Hyperion chaos: from Black, Nicholson & Thomas 1995, "Hyperion: Rotational dynamics", Icarus 117, p. 149
• Hyperion flyby: PIA07742 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07742
• Iapetus dichotomy: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=3772
• Cassini images of Iapetus: PIA06166 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06166 and PIA08404 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08404
• Ridges on Pan and Atlas: PIA08405 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08405
• Phoebe: PIA06064 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06064
• Cassini Grand Finale orbits: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7580/
• Cassini's final images: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/3120/cassinis-final-images/
• Cassini final moments: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7628/?category=hall-of-fame
• Cassini's final portrait: image by Ian Regan, from http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/2017/cassinis-last-dance-with-saturn-farewell-mosaic.html

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Last updated 16 November 2017