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26.1 day old Moon
NASA's ongoing assessment by Cassini is leading to the understanding of water that might be contained in our solar system.
October 16, 2014
By Jason Major
...And like (click here) the small zap you may get when reaching for a doorknob or other conductive object, Cassini’s Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) instrument detected a brief magnetic connection and spike in electrons as it passed by Hyperion on Sept. 26, 2005.
“The large difference in potential between the surface and the spacecraft resulted in a flow of electrons being accelerated from Hyperion toward Cassini,” said Tom Nordheim, doctoral candidate at Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL), University College London, and leader of the analysis. ”It was rather like Cassini receiving a 200-volt electric shock from Hyperion, even though they were over 2,000 kilometers [1,200 miles] apart at the time.”...
