Lecture for Friends of the RAS: The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Satu rn

Start Date
End Date
The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn
Dr Chris Arridge (University College London) The Cassini-Huygens mission was launched in 1997 and arrived in the saturnian system in 2004. In this talk we look at the Cassini orbiter, the Huygens probe which landed on Saturn's largest moon Titan, and the new discoveries that this mission has allowed us to make. We will focus on the plumes of Enceladus, Titan's surface and atmosphere, using the rings to peer inside the planet, and the riddle of how long a day is on Saturn.
Dr Chris Arridge studies the giant planets of our solar system, working particularly on Saturn using NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and Jupiter where he is involved in ESA's JUICE mission that is currently under development.
He's originally from Hull and studied Physics with Planetary and Space Physics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, and got his PhD in Space Physics from Imperial College London. He is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer at University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chrisarridge. The talk will be followed by a wine reception in the Library.