Jun 11 2004
From The Space Library
Passing by Saturn's furthest moon Phoebe, the Cassini spacecraft returned analyses of the moon indicating that Phoebe's chemical composition is similar to the composition of comets, a finding that supported previous scientific theories about the enigmatic Phoebe. Because Phoebe has an unusually dark appearance and orbits Saturn in a direction opposite that of the planet's other moons, scientists had theorized that the moon is a captive object of Saturn. Cassini's analyses of Phoebe indicated that the diminutive moon's surface is composed of carbon dioxide, water ice, water-bearing minerals, and various organic chemicals. The results indicated possible chemical similarities between Phoebe's composite materials and materials observed in comets. The Cassini spacecraft was one of two in the Cassini-Huygens mission, a joint project of ESA, the Italian Space Agency, and NASA. Besides Cassini ~ an orbiter designed to orbit Saturn, studying the planet and its system of moons ~ the project included the probe Huygens, created to examine Saturn's largest moon Titan. (Richard A. Kerr, “Dirty Old Ice Ball Found at Saturn,” Science 304, no. 5678 (18 June 2004): 1727; Warren E. Leary, “Craft Confirms a Comet Link for Peculiar Moon of Saturn,” New York Times, 24 June 2004.
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