1 00:00:06,019 --> 00:00:04,760 hi I'm on our lawn wanna Cassini's 2 00:00:08,330 --> 00:00:06,029 navigators and NASA's Jet Propulsion 3 00:00:10,370 --> 00:00:08,340 Laboratory in Pasadena with your report 4 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:10,380 from the ringed planet like most of you 5 00:00:13,669 --> 00:00:12,330 Cassini is extremely busy in December 6 00:00:15,259 --> 00:00:13,679 because all that the scientists and 7 00:00:17,870 --> 00:00:15,269 engineers want this season is more data 8 00:00:19,970 --> 00:00:17,880 as a result the spacecraft is completing 9 00:00:23,779 --> 00:00:19,980 floor revolutions around Saturn every 16 10 00:00:25,550 --> 00:00:23,789 days the December 5th Titan flyby was 11 00:00:27,290 --> 00:00:25,560 unique because Cassini was positioned to 12 00:00:29,419 --> 00:00:27,300 travel over tighten moving north to 13 00:00:30,859 --> 00:00:29,429 south this allowed our scientists to 14 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:30,869 first get pictures of the Huygens 15 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:35,070 landing site and then high-resolution 16 00:00:38,569 --> 00:00:36,570 images of dark lakes in the southern 17 00:00:42,770 --> 00:00:38,579 hemisphere in particular one called 18 00:00:44,990 --> 00:00:42,780 Ontario locusts but Titan isn't the only 19 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:45,000 place Cassini's exploring there been 20 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:46,770 many great discoveries about Saturn's 21 00:00:51,139 --> 00:00:48,710 enigmatic rings and smaller moons 22 00:00:52,779 --> 00:00:51,149 scientists believe that Saturn's rings 23 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:52,789 are much older than originally thought 24 00:00:56,090 --> 00:00:54,690 previous missions gave them the 25 00:00:58,310 --> 00:00:56,100 impression that the rings were formed 26 00:01:00,860 --> 00:00:58,320 perhaps a hundred million years ago by a 27 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:00,870 cataclysmic impact of a comet into a 28 00:01:05,960 --> 00:01:03,570 large moon using a technique known as 29 00:01:07,490 --> 00:01:05,970 stellar occultation scientists acquired 30 00:01:09,350 --> 00:01:07,500 evidence that the Rings appear to be 31 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:09,360 older because smaller moonlets our 32 00:01:12,679 --> 00:01:11,490 recycling themselves this animation 33 00:01:15,109 --> 00:01:12,689 shows you how a stellar occultation 34 00:01:17,149 --> 00:01:15,119 works by measuring the flickering of 35 00:01:19,190 --> 00:01:17,159 starlight as it passes through the Rings 36 00:01:21,620 --> 00:01:19,200 we're able to tell how thick the Rings 37 00:01:23,660 --> 00:01:21,630 are or if there's a more solid moola in 38 00:01:25,249 --> 00:01:23,670 the way the moonlets appear to be 39 00:01:27,890 --> 00:01:25,259 continually colliding into each other 40 00:01:29,359 --> 00:01:27,900 shattering into ring particles and then 41 00:01:32,630 --> 00:01:29,369 their gravity brings them back together 42 00:01:34,340 --> 00:01:32,640 to recreate new moon let's as we know 43 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:34,350 here on earth recycling makes things 44 00:01:38,539 --> 00:01:36,810 last longer scientists now believe that 45 00:01:42,340 --> 00:01:38,549 the Rings may be as old as the solar 46 00:01:44,090 --> 00:01:42,350 system itself 4.5 billion years old 47 00:01:45,950 --> 00:01:44,100 coming up on December twentieth 48 00:01:48,289 --> 00:01:45,960 Cassini's radar instrument will have 49 00:01:50,690 --> 00:01:48,299 historic opportunity to observe Titan 50 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:50,700 South Pole the radar team will pierce 51 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:52,170 through Titans thick smog like 52 00:01:56,179 --> 00:01:53,930 atmosphere in search of more legs 53 00:01:58,429 --> 00:01:56,189 Cassini's trip into the deep south will 54 00:02:00,289 --> 00:01:58,439 mark its fourth of seven visits in the 55 00:02:02,359 --> 00:02:00,299 southern hemisphere planned in this 56 00:02:04,039 --> 00:02:02,369 campaign to keep up to date with the 57 00:02:07,390 --> 00:02:04,049 latest news from Cassini please visit 58 00:02:09,430 --> 00:02:07,400 our website Saturn JPL NASA