Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:59 am Posts: 6532 Location: Friendswood, TX
OK, everybody, wave at Saturn!
By Todd Leopold, CNN
updated 3:48 PM EDT, Thu July 18, 2013
(CNN) -- As far as we know, there are no Saturnians on Saturn. There are no sirens on Titan nor large, monolithic stargates floating just outside Iapetus.
And even if there were, they couldn't see us. Not in much detail, anyway. We're more than a billion kilometers away.
But we're going to wave and smile at them anyway. At least, that's the plan hatched by NASA and "The Day the Earth Smiled," organized by Cassini Imaging Team Leader Carolyn Porco.
On Friday, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft -- serving humanity since 1997 and in orbit around the ringed giant since 2004 -- will take pictures of Saturn and its rings during a solar eclipse. Included in the images, though just the barest dot, will be our Big Blue Marble.
Porco has high hopes for the extraterrestrial picture-taking, which will occur from 21:27 to 21:42 UTC. (That's 5:27 p.m. to 5:42 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the United States, subtracting an hour for each time zone to the west.)
"I hope, at the appropriate time, that you stop what you're doing, go outside, gather together with friends and family ... and marvel at your own existence and that of all life on planet Earth," she writes on her website. "Then, by all means, rejoice!"
NASA has a catchier name for the image shoot. The agency is calling it "The First Interplanetary Photobomb." The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is asking viewers to "wave at Saturn."
Is there an astronomical point to such celebrating?
Well, NASA points out, it's not like Earth is often photographed from the far reaches of outer space. "Opportunities to image Earth from the outer solar system are rare," the agency says in its "Photobomb" press release. "Since the Space Age began, there have been only two images of Earth from the outer solar system."
And maybe the point should be more existential, anyway. On Saturday, we'll celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
_________________ The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR
Thu Jul 18, 2013 6:52 pm
epo3
GT Truther
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:16 pm Posts: 201 Location: Up-State NY
Re: OK, everybody, wave at Saturn!
Hey Bluebonnet,
I think the photo to which you post about, may be seen at about 3:20 in the youtube below...
I check this guy's channel most every day, mainly for updates on the sun's activities.
_________________ Its Full of Stars...
Tue Jul 23, 2013 5:37 pm
Bluebonnet
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:59 am Posts: 6532 Location: Friendswood, TX
Re: OK, everybody, wave at Saturn!
Here it is epo! What an amazing shot!!!
The arrow marks Earth...
_________________ The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR
Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:20 am
L2L
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2007 8:54 am Posts: 4952 Location: Canada
I'm going to give Saturn my middle finger for now!! Three reasons: 1. Bad Bankers 2. Council of 10 3. Trip Chairs
Fri May 23, 2014 5:05 pm
Bluebonnet
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:59 am Posts: 6532 Location: Friendswood, TX
Re: OK, everybody, wave at Saturn!
Awww, gt! They can't help it! It's not Saturn's fault, surely. Anything that lovely can't be all bad.
_________________ The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR
Fri May 23, 2014 7:02 pm
gtavt
GT Truther
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:30 pm Posts: 599
Re: OK, everybody, wave at Saturn!
It's the tenants I was referring too. Everyone knows what happens to bad tenants......eviction notices are given!
Sat May 24, 2014 12:01 pm
Bluebonnet
Site Admin
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 8:59 am Posts: 6532 Location: Friendswood, TX
Re: OK, everybody, wave at Saturn!
_________________ The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. - FDR
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