A particularly valuable stellar occultation of Saturn’s rings was lost over the weekend when rain at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone DSS-14 antenna prevented reception of any of our data from the Cassini spacecraft. Having spent years planning these occultations and getting them into the Cassini timeline, losing one leaves a hollow feeling. I do have dozens more planned, but this one had the unusual characteristic of providing a particularly high resolution view of part of Saturn’s B ring. Bummer!
Oh, that’s too bad. I look at those pictures all the time - post quite a few on my blog. Cassini is delivering such spectacular, beautiful pictures, and I’m sure what you’re learning makes them even more valuable.