Planetarium is watching as spacecraft rings up Saturn.Byline: Jim Feehan The Register-Guard After seven years and 1 billion miles traveled, a camera-toting spacecraft will arrive at Saturn later this month - and the Science Factory's Planetarium planetarium, optical device used to project a representation of the heavens onto a domed ceiling; the term also designates the building that houses such a device. A modern planetarium consists of as many as 150 motor-driven projectors mounted on an axis. is ready. A summer exhibit that debuted over the weekend will be updated as new photos and scientific information emerge from the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, said Kevin Lane-Cummings, interim planetarium director. While earlier NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. deep space missions have cruised past Saturn, the Cassini-Huygens probe is expected to unlock some of the mysteries of the giant gas planet shrouded by hydrogen and helium clouds. It also will examine Saturn's rings See Saturn. See also: Ring and moons. "As we explore other planets, we learn more about our planet. This really gives us a good look at our history and the future of the Earth," said Lane-Cummings, a former aerospace engineering student with prior planetarium experience in Seattle. Lane-Cummings favors a bring-your-questions approach to the exhibit, which will continue on weekend afternoons through August. On Sunday, for example, he enlisted the help of three audience members to demonstrate the distance of space. Lane-Cummings (representing the sun) hugged a wall and asked one boy to stand next to him holding a small ball (representing Earth and its moon), another boy to stand halfway down the room (representing Jupiter) and a third boy to stand facing the opposite wall (representing Saturn). Launched in October 1997, the Cassini-Huygens mission is a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Agency European Space Agency (ESA), multinational agency dedicated to the promotion, for exclusively peaceful purposes, of cooperation among European states in space research and technology. and the Italian Space Agency The Italian Space Agency (Italian: Agenzia Spaziale Italiana; ASI) was founded in 1988 to promote, coordinate, and conduct space activities in Italy. Operating under the Ministry of the Universities and Scientific and Technological Research, the Agency cooperates to study Saturn's atmosphere, rings and 31 moons for the next four years. The spacecraft is named for two 17th century astronomers: Giovanni Cassini of Italy and Christiaan Huygens Noun 1. Christiaan Huygens - Dutch physicist who first formulated the wave theory of light (1629-1695) Christian Huygens, Huygens of The Netherlands. The Cassini orbiter carries the Huygens probe The Huygens probe, supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA) and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens, is an atmospheric entry probe and lander carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini-Huygens mission. , which is due to visit Titan, Saturn's largest moon and the only satellite in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, in December, Lane-Cummings said. Titan could be a destination for future explorers because scientists believe it may hold a frozen record of prebiotic prebiotic nutrients that support growth and activity of bacteria, principally bifidobacteria, and resist absorption in the upper small intestine. Includes indigestible carbohydrates, inulins and lactulose. conditions such as those of ancient Earth, he said. "It's the only moon with an atmosphere, which scientists find intriguing," Lane-Cummings said. The intergalactic in·ter·ga·lac·tic adj. Being or occurring between galaxies: intergalactic space. in show begins Friday when the orbiter passes within 1,300 miles of the Saturn moon Phoebe. The moon orbits Saturn on a clockwise path, called retrograde, which is opposite the orbit of most moons and leads scientists to believe that it may actually be a captured asteroid or comet. Zak Breaux, 6, of Eugene was duly impressed with the show's computer-generated images of crater-ravaged terrain and ice sheets splashing into pools of methane. "It was real cool," Breaux said. SATURN SHOW "RingWorld: Journey to Saturn," a 50-minute presentation of the NASA space probe exploration of the ringed planet and its 31 moons. Where: The Science Factory's Planetarium, located across from Autzen Stadium in Alton Baker Park Alton Baker Park is located in Eugene, Oregon, United States, near Autzen Stadium. It features duck ponds, bicycle trails, and a dog park, and directly touches the Ferry Street Bridge. at 2300 Leo Harris Parkway. When: Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. through the end of August Cost: $4 for the planetarium show, free for children 3 and under More information: 682-7888 or visit www.sciencefactory.org online CAPTION(S): Cassini-Huygens snapped this image in May as it neared Saturn. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion