Turbulence in Saturn's Atmosphere 23
neutron_p writes "Today an image of turbulence in the atmosphere of Saturn has been unveiled. This image was taken with the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens spacecraft camera. This pattern is an example of a 'Kelvin-Helmholtz instability', which occurs when two fluids of different density flow past each other at different speeds. This phenomenon should be common on the gas-giant planets."
Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:2)
Ummm .... (Score:5, Interesting)
Because it's posted in the science section of Slashdot and a tremendous amount of us geeks keep an eye on all things space and science related?
The fact that we're in the middle of learning/confirming/discovering stuff about our own solar system is both News For Nerds and Stuff That Matters.
What do you expect, baseball highlights?
Re:Ummm .... (Score:3, Insightful)
Well... some context would be nice. Is this a first? Does this confirm some long unfulfilled prediction? They post new pictures from the Cassini probe all the time - why is this one chosen for a slashdot story out of all the newly posted pictures from the past week, many of which were also discoveries?
Re:Ummm .... (Score:2)
Maybe one of the editors panicked and decided to try and post a non-dupe? :-P
Truthfully, it seems to be expected results that confirm a well-known phenomenon. So I guess the sheer fact that it was a cassin
Re:Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:4, Informative)
The whole thing should really only be of interest to academics interested in this specific detail of thermodynamics. I don't see any practical reason why a lay person should care. Anyway, for a little more info on this, you can read http://www-sccm.stanford.edu/Students/witting/kh.
Re:Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:1)
Re:Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:2, Insightful)
What kind of person posts a comment, slating a news story for not being exciting?
You website even has lots of astronomical looking bits in it - chill out.
Re:Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:2)
The kind of person who wants to be excited.
Like I said in another other post - this story was posted with barely any context - not that Slashdot or the editor is at fault - just seems to be a trend in all news media lately...
Re:Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:1)
This way I get the information...new pictures from Saturn showing a principle still holds true on gas giant scales...I do not need people to tell me how this will change my life...for better or for worse depending on the analyst.
If I really want to know the larger effects I will look them up myself.
I think it is a refreshing change for news to be exactly that...NEWS and not some flunkies opinion on what the news means.
but that is
Re:Can someone explain why we should care? (Score:1)
Good question - in fact there are only 6 replys so far, so I guess people here arent that excited. Also I do sometimes wonder about these big projects - wouldnt we get better performance long-term from a larger number of smaller probes? these can be turned around in a shorter space of time, and hence would have more up-to-date sensors. For example, the CCD on the Cassini camera is only 1 megapixel! (See below)
I have heard it suggested that most of the useful function o
Whoa there tanto (Score:4, Informative)
wouldnt we get better performance long-term from a larger number of smaller probes?
Most of the cost goes into getting to these very far away places and holding enough propellent that you can slow down enough to be captured into orbit after you've been going very fast for a few years. It's not feasible to launch probes to outer planets all the time because you lose the ability to "sling shot" past other planets as a cheap way to pick up a lot of speed. These gravity assist (or more accuratley, angular momentum assist) moves make a little ship go whole heck of a lot faster which means you don't need as much propellent to get you somewhere. You have to go really fast to someplace that several billion miles away in a few years.
and hence would have more up-to-date sensors. For example, the CCD on the Cassini camera is only 1 megapixel!
The way to get better quality pics is NOT to have more pixels but to have better optics. The cameras in the "eyes" of the Mars Exploration Rovers (the pancam) are only about 1 megapixel and they have returned VERY high resolution pics that look great if you have to blow them up 10 times their size. That's because NASA spends a lot of money to use phenomonally good optics. In addition, more megapixels means larger files which requires higher data transfer rates which requires more power to your antenna which means less electricity to do other stuff. (whew)
I have heard it suggested that most of the useful function of the JIMO $10 billion orbiter could be done with a simpler $1 billion direct-to-europa mission.. And look at New Horizons, with a mission cost less $1 billion, or SMART-1 less than $100 million..
Dude, compare apples to apples here. SMART-1 is a test of new technology (ion drive) that is meant to see how well it works and if it useable in other missions. It was meant to be a cheap way to get to the moon. You don't need a whole lot of force to get the moon and orbit it if you're willing to wait a few years...like SMART is. To get to Jupiter and then ORBIT it, you have to go very fast to get there, then be strong enough to slow down to be captured into orbit. Then maybe you'd want a few kilos of propellent left to actually move around near Jupiter for a few year. That is a completely different scope than crusing along to the moon for several years or flying by Pluto-Charon before the atmosphere freezes out.
Re:Whoa there tanto (Score:2)
Re:Whoa there tanto (Score:2)
No, you whoa.. (Score:2)
Seems to me you are the one doing the jumping..
(Wouldnt we get better performance long-term from a larger number of smaller probes?)
Most of the cost goes into getting to these very far away places and holding enough propellent that you can slow down enough to be captured into orbit after you've been going very fast for a few years. It's not feasible to launch probes to outer planets all the time because you lose the ability to "sling shot" past other plan
Yum! (Score:4, Funny)
Jovian Jealousy (Score:1)
The implications are staggering… (Score:1)
2.???
3.Profit!
animation of similar jupiter turbulance (Score:3, Informative)
Quite an impressive animation. I want one on a a globe. :)
Higher resolution pictures... (Score:1)