Showing posts with label Cassini–Huygens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cassini–Huygens. Show all posts

Monday, June 7, 2010

Scientists Study Saturn´s Moon Named Titan


Scientists from NASA have been studying the moon Titan that circles Saturn and they are coming to the conclusion that life could exist in its atmosphere, from the article:

Researchers at the space agency believe they have discovered vital clues that appeared to indicate that primitive aliens could be living on the moon.

Data from Nasa's Cassini probe has analysed the complex chemistry on the surface of Titan, which experts say is the only moon around the planet to have a dense atmosphere.

They suggest that life forms may have been breathing in the planet’s atmosphere and also feeding on its surface’s fuel.

Chris McKay, an astrobiologist at Nasa Ames Research Centre, at Moffett Field, California who led the research, said: “We suggested hydrogen consumption because it's the obvious gas for life to consume on Titan, similar to the way we consume oxygen on Earth.

"If these signs do turn out to be a sign of life, it would be doubly exciting because it would represent a second form of life independent from water-based life on Earth.”

This reminds me of the different aliens portrayed in many different science fiction shows and movies all capable of living in different types of atmospheres, or sentient being living in the oceans of a world, or even living on rogue planets and survivng from thermal vents within the planet.

This study is interesting and the artist interpretation of what the surface would look like is fascinating as well.

I have always though that sentient life would be found outside our solar system, but who knows.

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Friday, April 2, 2010

Pac-Man in the Moon!


When I read the article about the Pac- Man image appearing on the moon that orbits Saturn it made me laugh so hard, but it is true, the image of the tiny moon taken by the Cassini spacecraft does look like the 1980 Pac-Man figure I used to play when you actually had to go to an arcade to play video games on those monstrous machines. I played Pac-Man but my favorite game was Space Invaders, I could play that game for hours as well as air hockey on those huge tables. Sometimes it is nice to go down memory lane....
From the article:

The Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn has caught an interesting new view of the tiny moon Mimas.

The probe measured temperature differences across the object's surface and produced a map that looks just like the 1980s Pac-Man video games icon.Scientists are unsure why Mimas should display such variations but say it is probably related to the diversity of textures in the surface materials.Some textures may retain heat better than others, they explain.Mimas is about 400km (250 miles) across. It has a distinctive scar called Herschel Crater which has led many to draw comparisons with the "Death Star" from the Star Wars movies.




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