6/19/2023 0 Comments Enigma code![]() In the 1990s, studies were published stating that the CBOE was one explanation for the anomalous radar signatures of icy satellites, but other explanations could explain the data equally well. Because the two paths have precisely the same length, they combine coherently, resulting in further brightening. For every scattering path of light bouncing through the ice, at opposition there is a path in the exact opposite direction. In the case of radar, a transmitter stands in for the Sun and a receiver for your eyes.”Īn icy surface, Hofgartner explained, has an even stronger opposition effect than normal. “When you’re at opposition, the Sun is positioned directly behind you on the line between you and an object, the surface appears much brighter than it would otherwise,” Hofgartner said. Kevin Hand of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Hofgartner argues that the extraordinary radar properties of these satellites, such as their reflectiveness and polarization (the orientation of light waves as they propagate through space) is very likely to be explained by the coherent backscatter opposition effect (CBOE). The change from center to edge is very different for these icy satellites than for rocky worlds.” “While making radar observations, the center of the disk is very bright and the edges much darker. Planets and other moons similarly look like disks through telescopes,” Hofgartner said. “When we look up at Earth’s moon it looks like a circular disk, even though we know it’s a sphere. The objects are also extremely bright, even in areas where they should be darker. “The way these objects scatter radar is drastically different than that of the rocky worlds, such as Mars and Earth, as well as smaller bodies such as asteroids and comets.” ![]() “Six different models have been published in an attempt to explain the radar signatures of the icy moons that orbit Jupiter and Saturn,” said Hofgartner, first author of the study, which was published in Nature Astronomy. The distinct radar attributes of these celestial bodies, which deviate considerably from those of rocky planets and the majority of Earth’s ice, have long confounded researchers. Jason Hofgartner, Senior Research Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, sheds light on the puzzling radar signatures of icy satellites orbiting Jupiter and Saturn. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI Scientists unveil solutions to enigmatic radar characteristics of Jupiter and Saturn’s moonsĪ collaborative investigation led by Dr. Their radar signatures, which differ significantly from those of rocky worlds and most ice on Earth, have long been a vexing question for the scientific community. Jason Hofgartner explains the unusual radar signatures of icy satellites orbiting Jupiter and Saturn. A study co-authored by Southwest Research Institute Senior Research Scientist Dr.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |