Saturn Hailstorm: Cassini's Radio and Plasma Wave Science

  • Thread starter Thread starter DarkAnt
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Saturn
AI Thread Summary
The discussion highlights the fascinating findings from Cassini's encounters with dust particles, which generated puffs of plasma upon impact. The Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument recorded these events, capturing up to 680 puffs per second and converting them into audible sounds that mimic hail hitting a tin roof. There is a query regarding the audio clip's authenticity, specifically whether it was produced without time compression, with a suggestion that it likely was time-compressed due to the spacecraft's six-minute eclipse by Saturn's B ring.
DarkAnt
Messages
195
Reaction score
0
I found the link to this on slashdot and I thought it was very interesting so I brought it here.


Each time a dust particle hit Cassini, the impact produced a puff of plasma--a tiny cloud of ionized gas. Cassini's Radio and Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument was able to count these clouds; there were as many as 680 puffs per second. "We converted these into audible sounds that resemble hail hitting a tin roof," says Gurnett, the intrument's principal investigator.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/09jul_hailstorm.htm?list1193276
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
Neat stuff. Is it fair to assume that the audio clip was made 1:1, i.e. no time compression?
 
I'm pretty sure it's time compressed -- the period during which the spacecraft was eclipsed by the B ring (IIRC) was ~6 minutes. It didn't cross the entire ring plane in seconds, I don't think.

- Warren
 

Thread 'Status Update by JRMichler'

Just ONCE, I wanted to see a post titled Status Update that was not a blatant, annoying spam post by a new member. So here it is. Today was a good day here in Northern Wisconsin. Fall colors are here, no mosquitos, no deer flies, and mild temperature, so my morning run was unusually nice. Only two meetings today, and both went well. The deer that was road killed just down the road two weeks ago is now fully decomposed, so no more smell. Somebody has a spike buck skull for their...
View full post »
Thread 'RIP George F. Smoot III (1945-2025)'

Thread 'RIP George F. Smoot III (1945-2025)'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Smoot https://physics.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/george-smoot-iii https://apc.u-paris.fr/fr/memory-george-fitzgerald-smoot-iii https://elements.lbl.gov/news/honoring-the-legacy-of-george-smoot/ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2006/smoot/facts/ https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200611/nobel.cfm https://inspirehep.net/authors/988263 Structure in the COBE Differential Microwave Radiometer First-Year Maps (Astrophysical Journal...
View full post »

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top