Spaceflight Insider
Laurel Kornfeld
Composed of various icy organic compounds, Pluto’s famous blue atmospheric haze likely
formed differently from the hazes surrounding Saturn’s moon Titan and Neptune’s moon Triton.
All three worlds have an abundance of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide in their atmospheres, which initially led scientists to think their hazes formed similarly and have similar compositions.
Cassini image of haze surrounding Saturn’s moon Titan. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Now, a new study finds that Pluto’s and Triton’s hazes formed very differently from that of Titan.
Using computer models of haze formation, a team of scientists found that because Pluto’s atmosphere is approximately 175 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius) lower than that of Titan, the chemical reactions that produce Titan’s haze would create only half of the haze particles NASA’s
The latest self-portrait in a gallery of Earth photos taken from space
Bob McDonald s blog: The Solar Orbiter captured images of Earth, Venus and Mars together in a single frame
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Bob McDonald s blog: The Solar Orbiter captured images of Earth, Venus and Mars together in a single frame
Posted: Jan 29, 2021 12:53 PM ET | Last Updated: January 29
Four views of Earth from space: from the Solar Probe in 2020 (top left), from Apollo 8 in 1968 (top right), from the Lunar Orbiter in 1966 (bottom left) and from Cassini in 2013 (bottom right).(NASA / ESA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute / Solar Orbiter/ SoloHI Team/ U.S. Naval Research Laboratory)
Saturn in 2006, backlit by the Sun. (Image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute, Fair Use)
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Thirteen years ago, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was orbiting Saturn, not yet through its first mission, when a set of telescopes on board observed an unknown ultraviolet signal. The intriguing data was only recently inspected, though, and an international research team now suspects it may indicate the presence of hydrazine on Saturn’s second-largest moon, Rhea.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
A mystery on Saturn’s moon Rhea may have finally been solved. When NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew past the planet’s second-largest moon before the end of its mission in 2017, it spotted a mysterious compound. It turns out, that compound may be hydrazine, which is often used in rocket fuel.
As Cassini flew past Saturn’s moons, it examined the sunlight bouncing off their surfaces to determine what they are made of. On Rhea, as well as several of the other moons, something on the surface absorbed a portion of that light in the ultraviolet range of the spectrum.