Cassini: The Finale

Cassini: The Finale

Saturn: Cassini, NASA

Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and Pioneer 11 have all passed by Saturn in the past, but no other spacecraft has revealed to us more information about Saturn than Cassini and its pal the Hyugens Probe. Cassini was the first probe to initiate an in depth look at Saturn and became the first probe to orbit the planet. We have discovered many things about Saturn's rings, the constantly changing magnetosphere,  and Titan's surface, just to name a few. To me, the most exciting discoveries to be made lie within Saturn itself and many more to find on the surface of it's amazing moon Titan. This is where the Hyugens Probe comes in to play. This probe was launched onto Titan's surface in 2005.

Huygens Probe: NASA

Since the Cassini mission began, it has seen two mission extensions which allowed for more flybys. The first extension was a two year mission called Cassini Equinox mission. This mission allowed Cassini to orbit Saturn and show us brilliant displays of Saturn's rings that were never before seen. The second extension was a seven year long extension called the  Cassini Solstice Mission. This mission will be concluded with a phase called The Grande Finale. The Grande Finale is characterized by 22 dives between Saturn's cloud tops and innermost ring before it goes dives into the planets atmosphere.

Cassini Launch: NASA

Sadly, every mission has to come to an end, this mission particularly due to a dwindling fuel supply and other factors. So before Cassini plunges to its demise, we can take a look at some of Cassini's notable achievements throughout its  20 year lifespan. Cassini was launched October 15th, 1997. The trip to Saturn took nearly 7 years to complete. Since Cassini's launch, the spacecraft has analyzed, studied, and captured some pretty amazing things. Cassini joined the Galileo spacecraft in December 2000, giving scientists more information about the Jupiter system. 3 months prior to arriving to Saturn, Cassini discovered 2 new moons on May 31st 2004 bringing the total count to 60 moons. After becoming the first craft to orbit Saturn, nearly 4 months later, Cassini's lenses pointed towards Titan and began studying the atmosphere and in 2005, the Huygens probe makes it safely to Titan's surface, revealing extraordinary information about the moon. Cassini discovered that most of the material in Saturn's E ring is composed of particles emanating from a moon named Enceladus and soon after that finding, we discovered that Enceladus has liquid water on the surface shooting from geysers, lakes on Titan. Cassini is an amazing craft, all of the findings were discovered during the primary mission.

Cassini has provided information of the moons Titan and Enceladus. And with each pass, we learned more and more about the two moons. Enceladus has liquid water on it's surface, more than 100 geysers that shoot ice particles out into space, geologic activity, hydrogen gas leaking in to the surface oceans, and hydro-thermal activity on the ocean floor, which can be an energy source for life. Titan has small and large lakes and a Sea of methane. Titan is a very rocky moon with mountains that exceed heights of 10,000 feet.

Cassini is readying itself for the final phase of this mission, deemed the Grand Finale. During this phase of the mission, Cassini will orbit closer to the planet than ever before during any other mission - diving between the planet and it's rings. This will help us learn about the region between the planet and it's rings and learn about the upper atmosphere of Saturn. According to NASA, Cassini will gather information that was too risky to gather during the early parts of the mission. Data such as Saturn's gravity, magnetic fields, internal geology, how fast the planet is rotating, new information about the ring system, icy particles in Saturn's atmosphere, and ultra close pictures of Saturn's rings and clouds.

Cassini's Path during ring dive: NASA

Everything Cassini finds will be beamed back to Earth, but there is still the question as to why scientists at NASA have decided bring Cassini to an end. Rocket fuel used to navigate Cassini over its 7 year journey and nearly 13 year orbit around Saturn, is running low. If Cassini's mission is not brought to an end, we will be unable to adjust it's course later on which could end in colliding into one of Saturn's moons. In order to avoid the possibility of the collision with a moon, NASA has decided to dispose of Cassini in Saturn's atmosphere. It is my understanding that once Cassini enters Saturn's atmosphere, much like when something enters Earth's atmosphere, it will burn up like an asteroid or meteorite. Cassini will be collecting data of Saturn until the end. Disposing of Cassini in this manner will allow us to preserve and protect the possible life harbingers Titan and Enceladus. 

Thanks to Cassini, we were able to view Saturn in ways never seen before. We have been able to study the composition and temperature of Saturn's upper atmosphere, and Cassini has provided us with live and up close pictures of Saturn's beautiful storms, we learned that there are seven year seasons, and we learned a lot about it's beautiful moons. In the 13 years Cassini orbited Saturn, we have learned more than we possibly ever will about Saturn.

Godspeed Cassini.

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The Fascination with Space

The Fascination with Space

 

Image Credit: NASA/ESA/HEIC and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

        Humans love to explore. In fact, we have seen to the furthest reaches of our universe, to where stars and galaxies are being born, and where time begins. We have witnessed the beginning of creation first hand. Space has been our addiction for centuries. We have explored more of the universe that we have explored our own planet. For example, the ocean covers 70 percent of the Earth's surface and we have only explored less than 5 percent of it. The Mariana Trench is the deepest place on our planet. It is the largest most unexplored place on the Earth. Scientist call It “the last, great, unexplored frontier”.  Down in the depths of this dark and dangerous trench are possibly thousands upon thousands of new species to be discovered. In the 4 hours, it took a group of researchers to dive the nearly 7 miles to the depths of the Mariana trench, there were dozens of new species discovered. Scientists have learned that life could thrive in yet another extreme environment. How could this be? When scientists look in extreme environments, we see life prosper in ways that defy our understanding. Life adapts to survive.

         Life can thrive in the most extreme and unexpected environments. The life that thrive in these environments are called extremophiles. These extremophiles can tolerate conditions that would kill other organisms. These organisms live in such places like volcanic hot springs, densely salted lakes, sulfuric acidic pools, frozen tundra, superheated boiling water, extreme water pressure, asphalt lakes, absence of oxygen and water, just to name a few. These discoveries have fueled our thirst for more. We have stepped out into the greatest challenge that man has ever faced and that is outer space. We will continue searching until we answer the question, “Are we alone?”.

Thermophiles, a type of extremophile, produce some of the bright colors of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

         Recently, with the aid of the Spitzer Space Telescope,  we have discovered 7 planets. The system has come to be known as the Trappist-1 system. This system has 3 planets in the habitable zone. These planets could possibly harbor life. On the surface of these planets, even though they are cooler than the Earth, there is the possibility of liquid water. If the planets have the right combinations of gasses and an atmosphere, they could be habitable for humans. When thinking about extremophiles, these 3 planets could have these hardy microscopic life forms.
 


          Do you think the Trappist-1 system could harbor life? It will be interesting to find out. One day our curiosity will get the best of us and we will be in orbit around one of the worlds that orbit Trappist-1. There is an entire universe out there and more planets to discover. The exploration pushes forward and the quest to find life continues.

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SEVEN Earth Sized Planets Discovered!!!

SEVEN Earth Sized Planets Discovered!!!

If you read the title, do not wipe your eyes, or double take! That does say SEVEN Earth sized planets discovered. It is one of the biggest discoveries of my life time in my own opinion. What makes this discovery so much more significant than all of the others. Well, Here's why!!


The Amount of Planets Discovered in One System

This system is different than most of the other systems discovered. There have been more than 3,400 exoplanets discovered since this program started. While the Kepler space telescope is the familiar exoplanet finder, the Spitzer Space Telescope takes the credit for this find. This is special because Seven planets were discovered at once, in the same system, with three of them being located in the habitable zone or "Goldilocks" zone. Which leads me into the point.


The Habitable Zone

Everyone has heard of the Habitable Zone! But, just what is the Habitable Zone? Well it is commonly referred to as the "Goldilocks" Zone. It is the zone where liquid water and possibly even life can be sustained. In our solar system, 3 planets exist inside of the Habitable Zone; Earth, Venus, and Mars. The problem with Mars is that it sits to the far end of our zone where it experiences freezing cold temperatures. Venus is on the front end of the Habitable Zone and it experienced the greenhouse effect and became so hot that all of the water that was there evaporated. In the newly discovered system TRAPPIST-1, the planets that exist in the Habitable Zone are TRAPPIST-1e, g, and f. TRAPPIST-1e is roughly the same size of the Earth and receives about the same amount of star light as the Earth.



Planet TRAPPIST-1e seems to have great potential for oceans, high oxygen concentration, and more Earth like features. This is why this discovery is so revolutionary. If that is not enough for you, there have been 3,449 confirmed exoplanets. NASA says that there are potentially 100 billion exoplanets out there to be discovered. How many do you think will be in the Habitable Zone?


The distance

This is quite possibly the most important criteria. These planets are 40 light-years away. What is a light year? A light year is the distance that light travels in one year. This is saying it would take 40 years, traveling at the speed of light, to reach one of these planets. How fast is the speed of light? That is a mind boggling 186,000 miles per SECOND! Sadly, we have not reached anywhere close to traveling at those speeds. I know what you are thinking, if the new planets are so far away, how come I am making such a big deal about this? Roughly 6 months ago, we discovered an exoplanet known as Proxima b. this exoplanet orbits our nearest neighboring star which is 4.2 light-years away. This system is only made up of that one exoplanet. Discovering the TRAPPIST-1 system just a mere 40 light years away, with SEVEN exoplanets, and THREE of those in the Habitable Zone, is a wonderful and revolutionary find when compared to the vastness of the universe.

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Stars in the Night Sky

Stars in the Night Sky

For some people, the stars offer solidarity and tranquility. For others, their perplexity offers something a little different. For an amateur astronomer such as myself, there are so many questions to be asked as I look up at the night sky. Why do some stars twinkle? Why are some stars bright and some dull? Well today, we will try to understand the immensity of the stars in the night sky.

What do we see when we look up?

The night sky is filled with beauty. When we look up we see a wide variety of things such as planets, galaxies, and other stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Simply put, it is pretty difficult to see other galaxies because our sky is riddled with stars from our galaxy. There is one galaxy that sticks out in the Northern Hemisphere called M31 and in the Southern hemisphere, there are two dwarf galaxies.

Throughout the year, we can see multiple planets. While not all planets are always visible at the same time, it is amazing they are even there. On a clear night we can see Venus, which if it is not the brightest star in the sky, it is on par with the brightest star in the sky. Somewhere near Venus is a much dimmer star and that is Mars. Jupiter will creep up around midnight and last until dawn and it is the second brightest planet that dominates the sky. If you catch Saturn right before dawn and look at it through a telescope you would be in awe. Saturn is absolutely breathtaking. And as the Sun rises, you can catch Mercury as it slips behind the Sun as the morning light fills the sky.

How can you Tell the Difference Between a Star and a Planet?

I can see how confusing this can be since all the bright little lights in the sky look exactly the same. The easiest way to differentiate between a planet and a star is as simple as this.

1. A star shimmers or "twinkles" and a planet stays one constant in their luminosity (brightness)

2. Planets typically follow the same path as the Sun and the Earth's Moon, whereas stars move around in the sky, but they do not rise or set.

3. Although planets and stars both shine, the planets only shine because they are reflecting the light back from our Sun. There are stars many times bigger than our own Sun. Even though they are bigger, they are much further away from us that their light does not shine as bright.

Spiekeroog and the Milky Way over the island. Picture credit: Kai Kröger

What makes a Star Twinkle?

The atmosphere has many layers. As the light from the distant stars would pass through those layers, the light gets refracted (bent) and when picked up by our eyes, our perception is a twinkle. An interesting thing to note as well, the stars closer to the horizon twinkle more than stars higher up in the sky. This is because there is more air the light has to travel through which means more refraction of the light. As for planets, they are close enough to the Earth, that the atmosphere does not affect the light that we see.

So no matter what reason you choose to look up at the sky, just enjoy the peace and solidarity, ask questions, and learn! Stars are more than white specks in the sky!

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What's Space Like in a Game

Space in a Game

I love video games. And I know a lot of others who do. I also love space, and I similarly know a lot of people who share that interest. If you fall in either (or both) of these categories, have I got a game for you! Kerbal Space Program, officially completed as of April 27, 2015, has been available as an Early Access game or demo from various platforms since December 15, 2014. The finished game is now available on PC, Mac, Xbox One,

Possibly one of the most realistic space simulators to date, this doesn't just give you a ship and throw you into the wild black yonder- instead, it puts you in direct control of an entire space exploration administration, akin to NASA or SpaceX. The main core of gameplay involves building all assortments of rockets, shuttles, spaceplanes and more with hundreds of lego-like pieces, then firing them into space to see what sticks. The cartoonish little green-yellow Kerbals who fly these ships are determined, brave, and probably not all that bright... I probably wouldn't get in a ship designed by you, to be fair. But this game, while funny and bright at first glance, holds a depth of real-world physics and orbital mechanics nearly unmatched in any game before or since. It also has an entire solar system for you to explore, complete with a sun and six planets, a planetoid (like Pluto), and nine moons, as well as asteroids! It includes three different gameplay modes; Career, Science, and Sandbox.

In Career mode, you build  your administration from the ground up, hiring astronauts, performing contracts to raise money, building rockets, experimenting and researching to unlock more advanced rocket parts, and making sure your popular opinion stays high enough to keep funding coming. The full space administration experience. Note: it's really hard.

In Science mode, you start out with the basic buildings and rocket parts, and have to unlock more parts and upgrades via experiments. You don't have to worry too much about money or public opinion in this mode, but it's still quite a challenge just to get off the ground and back... safely, at least.

In Sandbox mode, the system is your oyster. All parts and building upgrades are there for you from the start, it's just up to you to build the biggest, baddest space behemoth you can... that won't fall apart as it exits the atmosphere.

Overall, this game is incredibly fun for just about anyone, from the expert in orbital mechanics to the kid who just got a telescope for his birthday. The learning curve is pretty steep, I won't lie, but it's not impossible to eyeball it and hope for the best-  you just have to be persistent, and not care about your Kerbals coming home if you play this way. On my first mission, I missed the Mun (one of the two moons orbiting your starting planet, Kerbin) and was slingshot out of Kerbin's orbit, losing my first astronaut (RIP Jebadiah) as he was thrown into orbit around the sun. But if you're smart enough and feel like doing the math, or get good enough at eyeballing it, you can conquer the system.

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