WE REALLY LIKE THA MOON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3kR2KK8TEs

They're so close! & NASA's stream keeps cutting to a split view of inside capsule, outside wing camera, which is neat!

#space #artemis #moon #nasa

https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/artemis-ii-will-use-laser-beams-to-live-stream-4k-moon-footage-one-giant-step-beyond-the-s-band-radio-comms-of-the-apollo-era

#space #science #artemis #artemis2 #lasers #communication #moon

#Artemis II seemed to leap off the pad pretty eagerly.

Does anyone know what its initial #TWR is?

Can't find much online about it.

#ArtemisII #NASA #Moon

The irony ...

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit."

Artemis (Diana) is Apollo's twin sister. Together the two are 'Lucifer'.

They are chief deities of the solar worship cult.

#NASA #AprilFools #Moon #Artemis #Apollo #Bible #Babylon #Lucifer #Gods #Demons #Worship #Religion #Space

The Drummer & The Moon.

#statue #Truro #Cornwall #drummer #moon #bluesky #LemonQuay

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Statue of a drummer with arm raised in silhouette against a blue sky and the moon

NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-adds-mission-to-artemis-lunar-program-updates-architecture/

#Space
#NASA
#Moon
#Artemis
#NewMission
#Schedule
#Science
#STEM

"Apollo 8 saved 1968. Artemis II may work similar magic today."

Jeffrey Kluger for TIME: https://time.com/7346146/artemis-ii-launch-nasa-astronauts-moon-mission/

#Longreads #Space #Moon #NASA #Astronaut #Lunar #OuterSpace #Artemis

#senryu by Laurence Stacy. Laurence teaches English & literature courses at Kennesaw State University. He is also the recent coauthor of Before the Earth: Haiku and Haikai. In addition to studying poetics, he is a longtime martial artist, and is interested in connections between the disciplines he enjoys. #poetry #haiku #goodbye #moon

Going around the Moon is as far as humans have ever been from Earth, so these astronauts are doing something pretty amazing next month.

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/01/23/artemis-ii-crew-enters-quarantine-ahead-of-journey-around-moon/

#artemis #space #moon #artemis2

2026 January 3

Full Moonlight
* Image Credit & Copyright: Zhengjie Wu and Jeff Dai
https://twanight.org/profile/jeff-dai/

Explanation:
The Full Moon is the brightest lunar phase, and tonight you can stand in the light of the first Full Moon of 2026. In fact, the Moon's full phase occurs on January 3 at 10:03 UTC, while only about 7 hours later planet Earth reaches its 2026 perihelion, the closest point in its elliptical orbit around the Sun, at 17:16 UTC. January's Full Moon was also not far from its own perigee, or closest approach to planet Earth. For this lunation the Moon's perigee was on January 1 at 21:44 UTC. You can also spot planet Jupiter, near its brightest for 2026 and close on the sky to the Full Moon tonight. But while you're out skygazing don't forget to look for rare, bright fireballs from the Quadrantid meteor shower.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211118.html
https://earthsky.org/earth/rare-alignment-of-earth-moon-and-sun-january-1-2-3-2026/
https://earthsky.org/tonight/january-full-moon-is-the-wolf-moon/
https://moon.nasa.gov/moon-observation/daily-moon-guide/?intent=011
https://www.amsmeteors.org/2025/12/viewing-the-2026-quadrantid-meteor-shower/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/fap/ap260103.html

#space #earth #moon #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #physics #nature #NASA #apod

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2026 January 3 Full Moonlight * Image Credit & Copyright: Zhengjie Wu and Jeff Dai (TWAN) Explanation: The Full Moon is the brightest lunar phase, and tonight you can stand in the light of the first Full Moon of 2026. In fact, the Moon's full phase occurs on January 3 at 10:03 UTC, while only about 7 hours later planet Earth reaches its 2026 perihelion, the closest point in its elliptical orbit around the Sun, at 17:16 UTC. January's Full Moon was also not far from its own perigee, or closest approach to planet Earth. For this lunation the Moon's perigee was on January 1 at 21:44 UTC. You can also spot planet Jupiter, near its brightest for 2026 and close on the sky to the Full Moon tonight. But while you're out skygazing don't forget to look for rare, bright fireballs from the Quadrantid meteor shower. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

Bledhen Nowydh Da from Truro.

#cathedral #moon #Cornwall #Kernow #newyear #2026

2025 December 6

Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater
* Apollo 17 Crew, NASA
https://apollojournals.org/
https://www.nasa.gov/

Explanation:
Fifty three years ago, in December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon exploring the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. This snapshot from another world was taken by Cernan as he and Schmitt roamed the lunar valley's floor. The image shows Schmitt next to the lunar rover parked at the southeast rim of Shorty Crater. That location is near the spot where geologist Schmitt discovered orange lunar soil. The Apollo 17 crew returned with 110 kilograms of rock and soil samples, more than was returned from any of the other lunar landing sites. And for now, Cernan and Schmitt are the last to walk on the Moon.
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_17/
https://www.nasa.gov/history/alsj-and-afj/
https://apollojournals.org/alsj/a17/a17.landing.html
https://apollojournals.org/afj/ap17fj/14_day05_part4.html
https://apollojournals.org/alsj/a17/AS17-137-21009HR.jpg
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250328.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040605.html
https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/417
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorty_(crater)
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010523.html
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/lunar/missions/apollo/apollo_17/samples/
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/fap/ap251206.html

#space #moon #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #education #apod

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2025 December 6 Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater * Apollo 17 Crew, NASA Explanation: Fifty three years ago, in December of 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about 75 hours on the Moon exploring the Taurus-Littrow valley, while colleague Ronald Evans orbited overhead. This snapshot from another world was taken by Cernan as he and Schmitt roamed the lunar valley's floor. The image shows Schmitt next to the lunar rover parked at the southeast rim of Shorty Crater. That location is near the spot where geologist Schmitt discovered orange lunar soil. The Apollo 17 crew returned with 110 kilograms of rock and soil samples, more than was returned from any of the other lunar landing sites. And for now, Cernan and Schmitt are the last to walk on the Moon. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

#tankaprose by new contributor Vaishnavi Ramaswamy of Chennai, India @haiku_vaishnavir #poetry #tanka #poetrylovers #cat #micropoetry #haiku #india #prose #amwriting #moon #poetrycommunity

2013 December 20

Titan's Land of Lakes
* Image Credit: Cassini Radar Mapper, JPL, USGS, ESA, NASA
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/cassiniorbiterinstruments/instrumentscassiniradar/
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/
http://www.esa.int/
http://www.nasa.gov/

Explanation:
Saturn's large moon Titan would be unique in our solar system, the only world with stable liquid lakes and seas on its surface ... except for planet Earth of course. Centered on the north pole, this colorized map shows Titan's bodies of methane and ethane in blue and black, still liquid at frigid surface temperatures of -180 degrees C (-292 degrees F). The map is based on data from the Cassini spacecraft's radar, taken during flybys between 2004 and 2013. Roughly heart-shaped, the lake above and right of the pole is Ligeia Mare, the second largest known body of liquid on Titan and larger than Lake Superior on Earth. Just below the north pole is Punga Mare. The sprawling sea below and right of Punga is the (hopefully sleeping) Kraken Mare, Titan's largest known sea. Above and left of the pole, the moon's surface is dotted with smalle
https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/titans-north/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planets/
https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Life_Without_Water_And_The_Habitable_Zone_999.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120515.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110401.html
https://science.nasa.gov/science-missions/
https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/
https://www.planetary.org/articles/20130527-the-shores-of-the-kraken-sea
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050117.html

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131220.html

#space #moon #Enceladus #saturn #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #ESA

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2013 December 20 Titan's Land of Lakes * Image Credit: Cassini Radar Mapper, JPL, USGS, ESA, NASA Explanation: Saturn's large moon Titan would be unique in our solar system, the only world with stable liquid lakes and seas on its surface ... except for planet Earth of course. Centered on the north pole, this colorized map shows Titan's bodies of methane and ethane in blue and black, still liquid at frigid surface temperatures of -180 degrees C (-292 degrees F). The map is based on data from the Cassini spacecraft's radar, taken during flybys between 2004 and 2013. Roughly heart-shaped, the lake above and right of the pole is Ligeia Mare, the second largest known body of liquid on Titan and larger than Lake Superior on Earth. Just below the north pole is Punga Mare. The sprawling sea below and right of Punga is the (hopefully sleeping) Kraken Mare, Titan's largest known sea. Above and left of the pole, the moon's surface is dotted with smaller lakes that range up to 50 kilometers across. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

Titan Touchdown: Huygens Descent Movie
* Video Credit: ESA, NASA, JPL, U. Arizona, E. Karkoschka
https://www.esa.int/
https://www.nasa.gov/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/missions/cassini
https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/research-scientists/erich-karkoschka

Explanation:
What would it look like to land on Saturn's moon Titan? The European Space Agency's Huygens probe set down on the Solar System's cloudiest moon in 2005, and a time-lapse video of its descent images was created. Huygens separated from the robotic Cassini spacecraft soon after it achieved orbit around Saturn in late 2004 and began approaching Titan. For two hours after arriving, Huygens plummeted toward Titan's surface, recording at first only the shrouded moon's opaque atmosphere. The computerized truck-tire sized probe soon deployed a parachute to slow its descent, pierced the thick clouds, and began transmitting images of a strange surface far below never before seen in visible light. Landing in a dried sea and surviving for 90 minutes, Huygen's returned unique images of a strange plain of dark sandy soil strewn with smooth, bright, fist-sized rocks of ice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huygens_%28spacecraft%29
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Huygens_spacecraft
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050117.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap041028.html

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250119.html

#space #moon #Titan #saturn #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA #ESA

TOPIC> Moons Of Saturn

Titan: Moon over Saturn
* Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute
https://www.spacescience.org/index.php
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
https://www.nasa.gov/

Explanation:
Like Earth's moon, Saturn's largest moon Titan is locked in synchronous rotation with its planet. This mosaic of images recorded by the Cassini spacecraft in May of 2012 shows its anti-Saturn side, the side always facing away from the ringed gas giant. The only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, Titan is the only solar system world besides Earth known to have standing bodies of liquid on its surface and an earthlike cycle of liquid rain and evaporation. Its high altitude layer of atmospheric haze is evident in the Cassini view of the 5,000 kilometer diameter moon over Saturn's rings and cloud tops. Near center is the dark dune-filled region known as Shangri-La. The Cassini-delivered Huygens probe rests below and left of center, after the most distant landing for a spacecraft from Earth.
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19642
https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/titan/facts/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141124.html
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20713
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150116.html
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161230.html

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-saturn/en/
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/search/Moons/
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/craters/en/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/

>> see more in thread >>

#space #moon #titan #saturn #astrophotography #photography #science #nature #NASA #education

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2025 May 3 Titan: Moon over Saturn * Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute Explanation: Like Earth's moon, Saturn's largest moon Titan is locked in synchronous rotation with its planet. This mosaic of images recorded by the Cassini spacecraft in May of 2012 shows its anti-Saturn side, the side always facing away from the ringed gas giant. The only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, Titan is the only solar system world besides Earth known to have standing bodies of liquid on its surface and an earthlike cycle of liquid rain and evaporation. Its high altitude layer of atmospheric haze is evident in the Cassini view of the 5,000 kilometer diameter moon over Saturn's rings and cloud tops. Near center is the dark dune-filled region known as Shangri-La. The Cassini-delivered Huygens probe rests below and left of center, after the most distant landing for a spacecraft from Earth. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

Titan Facts

Titan is Saturn's largest moon, and the only moon in our solar system known to have a substantial atmosphere. Titan is the only place besides Earth known to have liquids on its surface. It has clouds, rain, rivers, lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbons like methane and ethane.

Introduction
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is an icy world whose surface is completely obscured by a golden hazy atmosphere. Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system. Only Jupiter's moon Ganymede is larger, by just 2 percent. Titan is bigger than Earth's moon, and larger than even the planet Mercury.

This mammoth moon is the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, and it’s the only world besides Earth that has standing bodies of liquid, including rivers, lakes and seas, on its surface. Like Earth, Titan’s atmosphere is primarily nitrogen, plus a small amount of methane. It is the sole other place in the solar system known to have an earthlike cycle of liquids raining from clouds, flowing across its surface, filling lakes and seas, and evaporating back into the sky (akin to Earth’s water cycle). Titan is also thought to have a subsurface ocean of water.

Namesake
Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan on March 25, 1655.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christiaan_Huygens
Huygens called his discovery "Luna Saturni," which is Latin for Saturn moon. The name Titan came from John Herschel, son of astronomer William Herschel. Titans are from Greek mythology.

>> there is more >>
https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/titan/facts/

#space #moon #titan #astrophotography #astronomy #science #NASA

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Titan passes in front of Saturn in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The colorful globe of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, passes in front of the planet and its rings in this true color snapshot from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Titan Facts Titan is Saturn's largest moon, and the only moon in our solar system known to have a substantial atmosphere. Titan is the only place besides Earth known to have liquids on its surface. It has clouds, rain, rivers, lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbons like methane and ethane.

It's Raining on Titan
Illustration Credit & Copyright: David A. Hardy (AstroArt)

Explanation:
It's been raining on Titan. In fact, it's likely been raining methane on Titan and that's not an April Fools' joke. The almost familiar scene depicted in this artist's vision of the surface of Saturn's largest moon looks across an eroding landscape into a stormy sky. That scenario is consistent with seasonal rain storms temporarily darkening Titan's surface along the moon's equatorial regions, as seen by instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft. Of course on frigid Titan, with surface temperatures of about -290 degrees F (-180 degrees C), the cycle of evaporation, cloud formation, and rain involves liquid methane instead of water. Lightning could also be possible in Titan's thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050117.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110401.html

#space #moon #titan #astroart #astrophotography #photography #science #NASA

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2011 April 1 It's Raining on Titan Illustration Credit & Copyright: David A. Hardy (AstroArt) Explanation: It's been raining on Titan. In fact, it's likely been raining methane on Titan and that's not an April Fools' joke. The almost familiar scene depicted in this artist's vision of the surface of Saturn's largest moon looks across an eroding landscape into a stormy sky. That scenario is consistent with seasonal rain storms temporarily darkening Titan's surface along the moon's equatorial regions, as seen by instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft. Of course on frigid Titan, with surface temperatures of about -290 degrees F (-180 degrees C), the cycle of evaporation, cloud formation, and rain involves liquid methane instead of water. Lightning could also be possible in Titan's thick, nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

Soaring over Titan
* Video Credit: Cassini Radar Mapper, JPL, USGS, ESA, NASA
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/spacecraft/cassini-orbiter/
(for this post a compressed version of the featured video has been used ..)

Explanation:
What would it look like to fly over Titan? Radar images from NASA's robotic Cassini satellite in orbit around Saturn have been digitally compiled to simulate such a flight. Cassini has swooped past Saturn's cloudiest moon several times since it arrived at the ringed planet in 2004. The virtual flight featured here shows numerous lakes colored black and mountainous terrain colored tan. Surface regions without detailed vertical information appear more flat, while sufficiently mapped regions have their heights digitally stretched. Among the basins visualized is Kraken Mare, Titan's largest lake which spans over 1,000 kilometers long. Titan's lakes are different from Earth's lakes in that they are composed of hydrocarbons with similarities to liquid natural gas. How Titan's lakes were created and why they survive continues to be a topic of research.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(moon)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrocarbon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141124.html

#space #moon #titan #science #nature

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* This is a compressed version of the video Soaring over Titan * Video Credit: Cassini Radar Mapper, JPL, USGS, ESA, NASA Explanation: What would it look like to fly over Titan? Radar images from NASA's robotic Cassini satellite in orbit around Saturn have been digitally compiled to simulate such a flight. Cassini has swooped past Saturn's cloudiest moon several times since it arrived at the ringed planet in 2004. The virtual flight featured here shows numerous lakes colored black and mountainous terrain colored tan. Surface regions without detailed vertical information appear more flat, while sufficiently mapped regions have their heights digitally stretched. Among the basins visualized is Kraken Mare, Titan's largest lake which spans over 1,000 kilometers long. Titan's lakes are different from Earth's lakes in that they are composed of hydrocarbons with similarities to liquid natural gas. How Titan's lakes were created and why they survive continues to be a topic of research. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

Huygens Lands on Titan
* Image Credit: ESA / NASA / JPL / University of Arizona

Explanation:
Delivered by Saturn-bound Cassini, ESA's Huygens probe touched down on the ringed planet's largest moon Titan, ten years ago on January 14, 2005. These panels show fisheye images made during its slow descent by parachute through Titan's dense atmosphere. Taken by the probe's descent imager/spectral radiometer instrument they range in altitude from 6 kilometers (upper left) to 0.2 kilometers (lower right) above the moon's surprisingly Earth-like surface of dark channels, floodplains, and bright ridges. But at temperatures near -290 degrees F (-180 degrees C), the liquids flowing across Titan's surface are methane and ethane, hydrocarbons rather than water. After making the most distant landing for a spacecraft from Earth, Huygens transmitted data for more than an hour. The Huygens data and a decade of exploration by Cassini have shown Titan to be a tantalizing world hosting a complex chemistry of organic compounds, dynamic landforms, lakes, seas, and a possible subsurface ocean of liquid water.

#space #moon #titan #astrophotography #photography #science #nature #NASA

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2015 January 16 . Huygens Lands on Titan * Image Credit: ESA / NASA / JPL / University of Arizona Explanation: Delivered by Saturn-bound Cassini, ESA's Huygens probe touched down on the ringed planet's largest moon Titan, ten years ago on January 14, 2005. These panels show fisheye images made during its slow descent by parachute through Titan's dense atmosphere. Taken by the probe's descent imager/spectral radiometer instrument they range in altitude from 6 kilometers (upper left) to 0.2 kilometers (lower right) above the moon's surprisingly Earth-like surface of dark channels, floodplains, and bright ridges. But at temperatures near -290 degrees F (-180 degrees C), the liquids flowing across Titan's surface are methane and ethane, hydrocarbons rather than water. After making the most distant landing for a spacecraft from Earth, Huygens transmitted data for more than an hour. The Huygens data and a decade of exploration by Cassini have shown Titan to be a tantalizing world hosting a complex chemistry of organic compounds, dynamic landforms, lakes, seas, and a possible subsurface ocean of liquid water. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

Dunes of Shangri-La on Titan
August 31, 2018

Scenes from a frigid alien landscape are coming to light in recent radar images of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

#space #moon #titan #science #nature #NASA

Potentially Habitable Moons
* Image Credit: Research and compilation - René Heller (McMaster Univ.) et al.
https://arxiv.org/search/astro-ph?searchtype=author&query=Heller,+R
Panels - NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute - Copyright: Ted Stryk
https://planetimages.blogspot.com/

Explanation:
For astrobiologists, these may be the four most tantalizing moons in our Solar System. Shown at the same scale, their exploration by interplanetary spacecraft has launched the idea that moons, not just planets, could have environments supporting life. The Galileo mission to Jupiter discovered Europa's global subsurface ocean of liquid water and indications of Ganymede's interior seas. At Saturn, the Cassini probe detected erupting fountains of water ice from Enceladus indicating warmer subsurface water on even that small moon, while finding surface lakes of frigid but still liquid hydrocarbons beneath the dense atmosphere of large moon Titan. Now looking beyond the Solar System, new research suggests that sizable exomoons, could actually outnumber exoplanets in stellar habitable zones. That would make moons the most common type of habitable world in the Universe.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap140919.html

Formation, Habitability, and Detection of Extrasolar Moons

The diversity and quantity of moons in the Solar System suggest a manifold population of natural satellites exist around extrasolar planets. Of peculiar interest from an astrobiological perspective, the number of sizable moons in the stellar habitable zones may outnumber planets in these circumstellar regions. With technological and theoretical methods now allowing for the detection of sub-Earth-sized extrasolar planets, the first detection of an extrasolar moon appears feasible. ..
>>
https://arxiv.org/abs/1408.6164

#space #moon #titan #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #astrobioligy #nature #NASA

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Potentially Habitable Moons * Image Credit: Research and compilation - René Heller (McMaster Univ.) et al. Panels - NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute - Copyright: Ted Stryk Explanation: For astrobiologists, these may be the four most tantalizing moons in our Solar System. Shown at the same scale, their exploration by interplanetary spacecraft has launched the idea that moons, not just planets, could have environments supporting life. The Galileo mission to Jupiter discovered Europa's global subsurface ocean of liquid water and indications of Ganymede's interior seas. At Saturn, the Cassini probe detected erupting fountains of water ice from Enceladus indicating warmer subsurface water on even that small moon, while finding surface lakes of frigid but still liquid hydrocarbons beneath the dense atmosphere of large moon Titan. Now looking beyond the Solar System, new research suggests that sizable exomoons, could actually outnumber exoplanets in stellar habitable zones. That would make moons the most common type of habitable world in the Universe. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

Remember the Titan (Landing): Twenty years ago today, Jan. 14, 2005, the Huygens probe touched down on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

This new, narrated movie was created with data collected by Cassini's imaging cameras and the Huygens Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer (DISR). The first minute shows a zoom into images of Titan from Cassini's cameras, while the remainder of the movie depicts the view from Huygens during the last few hours of its historic descent and landing.

It was October 15, 1997, when NASA's Cassini orbiter embarked on an epic, seven-year voyage to the Saturnian system. Hitching a ride was ESA's Huygens probe, destined for Saturn's largest moon, Titan. The final chapter of the interplanetary trek for Huygens began on 25 December 2004 when it deployed from the orbiter for a 21-day solo cruise toward the haze-shrouded moon. Plunging into Titan's atmosphere, on January 14 2005, the probe survived the hazardous 2 hour 27 minute descent to touch down safely on Titan’s frozen surface. Today, the Cassini spacecraft remains in orbit at Saturn. Its mission will end in 2017, 20 years after its journey began. More information and images from the mission at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov

#space #moon #titan #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA

2025 July 24

Titan Shadow Transit
* Image Credit & Copyright: Volodymyr Andrienko

Explanation:
Every 15 years or so, Saturn's rings are tilted edge-on to our line of sight. As the bright, beautiful ring system grows narrower and fainter it becomes increasingly difficult to see for denizens of planet Earth. But it does provide the opportunity to watch transits of Saturn's moons and their dark shadows across the ringed gas giant's still bright disk. Of course Saturn's largest moon Titan is the easiest to spot in transit. In this telescopic snapshot from July 18, Titan itself is at the upper left, casting a round dark shadow on Saturn's banded cloudtops above the narrow rings. In fact Titan's transit season is in full swing now with shadow transits every 16 days corresponding to the moon's orbital period. Its final shadow transit will be on October 6, though Titan's pale disk will continue to cross in front of Saturn as seen from telescopes on planet Earth every 16 days through January 25, 2026.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250724.html

#space #moon #titan #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA

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2025 July 24 Titan Shadow Transit * Image Credit & Copyright: Volodymyr Andrienko Explanation: Every 15 years or so, Saturn's rings are tilted edge-on to our line of sight. As the bright, beautiful ring system grows narrower and fainter it becomes increasingly difficult to see for denizens of planet Earth. But it does provide the opportunity to watch transits of Saturn's moons and their dark shadows across the ringed gas giant's still bright disk. Of course Saturn's largest moon Titan is the easiest to spot in transit. In this telescopic snapshot from July 18, Titan itself is at the upper left, casting a round dark shadow on Saturn's banded cloudtops above the narrow rings. In fact Titan's transit season is in full swing now with shadow transits every 16 days corresponding to the moon's orbital period. Its final shadow transit will be on October 6, though Titan's pale disk will continue to cross in front of Saturn as seen from telescopes on planet Earth every 16 days through January 25, 2026. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

Titan Shadow Transit Season Underway

By Bob King

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Titan transits occur only during the relatively brief time Earth and Saturn both lie nearly on the same plane, which coincides with when the rings appear approximately edge-on. Currently, we see the rings' south side, with the ring plane tilted between 2.7° (May 14th) and 3.2° (May 31st). The rings have been difficult to tease out since the planet's return to the morning sky. Not only have they been backlit by the Sun until recently, but Saturn also continues to lay low in the eastern sky at dawn, especially from mid-northern latitudes. Poor seeing coupled with bright twilight have made it difficult to discern much more than a pale-yellow ball. I finally succeeded on May 14th, when the rings flickered in and out of sight in my 10-inch Dob at 168×. They were nothing short of wispy — on the verge of invisibility.

Shadow transits are common at Jupiter, and they occur when one (or more) of the four Galilean satellites casts its shadow on the gas giant's cloud tops. The size of the dark spot is closely related to the size of the moon. Ganymede is the largest, with an apparent diameter of about 1.7″, and Europa the smallest at about 1.0″. Through the telescope, Ganymede's shadow is a definitive black dot, while Europa looks more like a pinpoint.
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https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-news/titan-shadow-transit-season-underway/

#space #moon #titan #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA

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The last Titan shadow transit series took place in 2009. Amateur astronomer Bill Weir made this sketch of Titan's shadow on April 13th that year, using a 6-inch f/8 telescope and magnification of 240×. Bill Weir

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Titan (smaller pale spot to left) and its dark shadow cross Saturn's disk on February 24, 2009, in this photo made with the 24-inch RCOS telescope at the University of Arizona SkyCenter on Mount Lemmon. Dione appears above the ring plane at left. CREDIT Sid Leach, Adam Block, and Francisco Arabia