First, here are two objects that have been named
Atlas and
Pan, orbiting Saturn. Their shapes are indeed strange and the only
‘moons’ in the Solar System to resemble ‘Flying Saucers’, as can be seen in the pics below.
The high resolution images provided by the Cassini spacecraft have uncovered a surprising shape for two small Saturn satellites located inside the
rings of the giant planet. An international team, leaded by Sébastien Charnoz and André Brahic from the Service d'Astrophysique (SAp) of
EA/DSM/DAPNIA and laboratoire AIM (CNRS, Université Paris Diderot), have just shown that the Pan and Atlas satellites, two small moons with only a 30
km radius, are circled at their equator by an important padding making them looking like "flying saucers".
Atlas
Highest resolution image taken by Cassini
140,000km from Atlas. Motion blur reduced.
Image Source: Calvin J Hamilton
Solarviews
Pan
This image of Pan was taken from 209,000 km away.
Courtesy: NASA/JPL
Needless to say, scientists have concluded they are natural Moons that have strange shapes as a result of ‘accumulating ring particles’ around
Saturn. But that’s the theory. The proof would be confirming that the moonlets and the rings near them have the same composition, but that still
needs to be done. What if they are of different composition? And what if the theory is wrong?
But why do only these two moons have these strange ‘flying saucer’ shapes in the Solar System? Could they be derelict space craft that have now
been covered with layers of dust?
As always, the best for the last!
Steins
Now for another object, an asteroid, named
Steins
Located in the main asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter, Asteroid 2867 Steins was selected as a scientific target to be observed, and flown by,
during the cruise phase of the Rosetta mission. It is a rare, E-type asteroid of which little is known. On its 10 year journey to the comet 67P, the
spacecraft flew past asteroid 2867 Steins in Sep 2008.
Rosetta has a complex trajectory which includes four gravity assist maneuvers (3 x Earth, 1 x Mars) before finally reaching the comet. On arrival
at 67P Rosetta will enter orbit around the comet and stay with it as it journeys in towards the Sun.
The Rosetta spacecraft flew by asteroid Steins which has an effective diameter of approx 5 km, at 18:58 UTC on 5 September 2008 at a distance of about
800 km on its way to RV with asteroid 67P. The Steins fly-by campaign ended on 4 October 2008 at which time the spacecraft was configured to low
activity cruise.
A Conspiracy?
When the moment arrived to take close-up images of Steins with the NAC, there was a…
…mysterious and immensely disappointing electronic cut-off of the spacecraft's only Narrow-Angle Camera (NAC) ... some nine minutes
(and more than 3000 miles) BEFORE the closest approach of the spacecraft to the asteroid!
"The software switched off automatically," said Gerhard Schwehm, the Mission Manager and head of Solar Systems Science Operations at ESA. "The
camera has some software limits and we'll analyze why this happened later ...."
This completely unexpected (and hugely disappointing) "software glitch" resulted in a loss of ALL the highest-resolution imaging data from Rosetta
(including high-resolution multi-spectral and color views) of "2867 Steins" -- leaving only the five-times-lower-resolution Wide Angle
Camera (WAC) data for visual analysis.
Here is what happened as per Rosetta's log:
Both cameras (narrow-angle and wide-angle) have been operating during the fly-by, with the NAC autonomously switching to safe mode at about 9
minutes before closest approach.
18:28 - High-gain antenna stops tracking the Earth - loss of telemetry signal.
18:30 - Fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) disabled on-board.
18:36 - Phase angle zero crossing.
18:38 - Closest approach (CA).
19:38 - End of asteroid closed loop tracking.
19:48 - Fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) re-enabled on-board.
19:54 - High-gain antenna resumes tracking the Earth (acquisition of telemetry signal on the ground).
>So how did a million dollar NAC camera malfunction just at and during the crucial moments when it was most required?
>How and why did the high-gain antenna stop tracking the Earth with a loss of the telemetry signal at the precise moment?
> How come the FDIR was re-enabled one hour and twenty minutes after the asteroid loop tracking?
> And surprisingly the high gain antenna resumed tracking by acquisition of the telemetry signal 16 min after the asteroid fly-by!
Now is this all coincidence? Years of testing the multi million dollar cameras and equipment during its approach to Steins results in a malfunction at
the exact time it was required?
OR was this a conspiracy to hide the truth of what Steins actually is? And was this just a cover up for non
publication of the images that were actually taken by the fully functioning NAC?
Here’s the photograph of Steins taken by the OSIRIS WAC:
Image of asteroid Steins, taken by the OSIRIS
Wide Angle Camera during the fly-by, presented at
a press conference on 6 September 08.
Distance= 960 km.
phase angle= 17°.
Image source: ESA – Rosetta
To conclude, did you notice strange but
similar shapes of the objects? Moonlets, asteroids, or derelicts of ancient alien craft? Take your
pick!
Cheers!
Refs:
www.solarviews.com...
www.nasa.gov...
www.nasa.gov...
www.esa.int...
rosetta.esa.int...
www.enterprisemission.com...
rosetta.esa.int...
