Here’s what Cassini heard as it made its daring dive between Saturn and its rings
By Tom Yulsman | May 2, 2017 10:57 am
As the Cassini spacecraft swooped between Saturn and its innermost ring on April 26th, one of its instruments listened for the sounds of its passage through the heretofore unexplored region. What it heard was of great interest to engineers planning for the second dive, as well as to scientists who study Saturn’s rings.
The engineers were hoping to hear the sound of silence, specifically nothing indicative of lots of dust hitting the spacecraft. If the gaps between Saturn and its rings turned out to be very dusty, on future dives — including the next one, scheduled for today, May 2nd — the spacecraft would once again have to use its 13-foot-wide antenna to shield its delicate instruments.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/imageo/2017/05/02/heres-what-cassini-heard-as-it-made-its-daring-dive-between-saturn-and-its-rings/#.WQnJkca1t0h
