Comments on: Countdown to Asteroid Flyby

By: Sili

Sili — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:04:16 +0000

Sorry – I forgot the rather import reference to Enceladus. Silly me …

And I suppose "pitching" would have been more correct relative to the direction of motion. Not sure why I chose "roll" out of the three axes.

Thank you for the clarification.

By: Aodhhan

Aodhhan — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:47:29 +0000

Thank you Jorge for your comments.

I try not to make assumptions or demean someones question where it could mean different things; so I'll state the fact I'm not quite sure 'exactly' what they mean in case my answer doesn't exactly match what they are looking for. If the answer doesn't get close to what they are looking for, you tend to get feedback telling you so.

I try to refrain from using the "I" word too much. However here it is warranted for the "…og" brothers; who are beyond being simply ignorant.

By: Jorge

Jorge — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:20:27 +0000

Careful with the "idiot" word. There are some around here promising to nag to death whomever uses it.

Anyway, trying to unmurk this exchange, I think Sili was referring to the maneouvre executed by Cassini in the last Enceladus flyby, which involved "rolling" while shooting pictures to compensate for the great relative speed and avoid blurring.

While I don't know exactly what the plans for Rosetta are, I believe the flyby is distant enough, and the asteroid is sufficiently well-lit, to make such a maneouvre unnecessary in this case. In all likelyhood, the spacecraft will simply shoot a picture or a series of pictures, then roll, then shoot a bit more, roll, and so on.

By: Aodhhan

Aodhhan — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:07:15 +0000

Because rolling doesn't imply moving along a stationary axis. A ball rolls along many axis points. Implied reasoning can look at the question as spinning, tumbling, pivoting, circular movement, yawing, pitching etc. Then along with the question was the phrase, "similar to Cassini". This typically means there was something unique which happened with this craft, which isn't typical.

Before you make your next juvenile comments about something, try opening up your mind and think a bit instead of opening your mouth. Next time something seems so obvious, you might stop and think YOU are the idiot. I'm sure this isn't the first time for you.

By: Smog Ekrin

Smog Ekrin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:30:17 +0000

I mean, if you're not even sure what he means by the word "roll" how do you think you could possible give a sensible answer to the rest of the question…

By: Enog Murgin

Enog Murgin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:26:27 +0000

Anyway… that's exactly what he means by "roll". Obviously – 'tracking' or as it is known in the English language – 'moving with' implies a degree of "focus".

Honestly some of the scientists today…

By: Sci-Fi Si

Sci-Fi Si — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:11:56 +0000

There is something special about this project. I can feel it in my bones:
Not exactly scientific but…

Thanks for the article Nancy.

By: Aodhhan

Aodhhan — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:42:45 +0000

Not sure exactly what you mean by "roll" while passing. However, the plans are to keep the Imaging system focused on the asteroid the whole time.
In fact, Rosetta not only uses its navigational cameras to figure out where it is, but in relation to the asteroid it also uses its OSIRIS system… Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System to actually keep "eyes on target" while coming up, passing by and moving away.

By: Sili

Sili — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:21:25 +0000

Will Rosetta do something similar to Cassini and roll while passing to get better pictures?

Or is that not necessary/possible due to distance, speed and/or optics?