European AstroFest 2018 - Space Missions *new*

For two days there was no need for a telescope to view the Universe, though you might have decided to buy one for later on. The Universe came to London in the form of European AstroFest â€“ all under one roof in the Kensington Conference and Events Centre. Here is Part 1 of some highlights.

European AstroFest 2018 - Space Missions

Saturn: magnificent rings, a planet-sized moon, and dozens of smaller moons. Three spacecraft had flown by before Cassini-Huygens was launched in 1997. But this mission wouldn't just fly by and snap some photos. It was going to get up close and personal.

Cassini-Huygens â€“ the Prime Mission

Titan was a mystery for three and a half centuries. It's a giant moon shrouded in impenetrable clouds, and has only recently begun to share its secrets. Why do scientists say it's like Earth? Is it time to book a vacation to visit the lakes and mountains of Titan?

Titan - Planet-sized Moon of Saturn

Saturn's moon Enceladus is a strange one. There are eruptions of cold volcanoes. This adds â€œsnowâ€ to a surface so bright it reflects 99% of the Sun's light, and supplies particles to maintain one of Saturn's rings. And does the moon harbor life in the salty ocean that lies under the ice?

Enceladus â€“ 10 Amazing Facts

Saturn has lots of moons â€“ more than five dozen of them with confirmed orbits. They are remarkable in many ways, but perhaps the strangest one is the misshapen and unpredictable Hyperion.

Hyperion â€“ Saturn's Weird Wobbly Moon

Rhea was Saturn's wife in classical mythology. Rhea the moon zips around Saturn in four and a half days. Although it has an oxygen atmosphere, we won't be moving there anytime soon. Even in direct sunlight, it's -281 degrees Fahrenheit and the "atmosphere" is similar to a vacuum on Earth.

Rhea Moon of Saturn

Astronomers are very excited about what they'll learn about Jupiter from the Juno mission. The public is probably more taken with the incredibly beautiful images that are like exquisite abstract paintings. Here is a complex storm on Jupiter from October 2017.

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The featured image spans about 30,000 kilometers, making this storm system just about as wide as planet Earth. The disturbance rotates counter-clockwise and shows a cloud pattern that includes light-colored updrafts thought to be composed predominantly of ammonia ice. These light clouds are the highest up and even cast discernable shadows toward the right.

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SwRI, MSSS; Processing: Gerald EichstÃ¤dt & SeÃ¡n Doran

Before Juno arrived at Jupiter no one had ever seen Jupiter's north pole. Juno captured this view as it approached the north pole. In this view of the polar cloud tops there are storms and weather unlike anywhere else in the Solar System.

Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS