Charley Kohlhase’s Solar System
The images that awed Voyager’s mission designer.
- By Paul Hoversten
- AirSpaceMag.com, January 24, 2013
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NASA
“In this Voyager 2 image taken on August 22, 1981 from 1.5 million miles, we were all dazzled by the dark spokes which formed rapidly in the B ring of Saturn, then dissipated over several rotations of the ring particles orbiting faster near Saturn and slower farther away. We had already been awed by the thousands of ringlets and gaplets produced by the gravitational effects of the moons outside of the rings, but this new phenomenon ‘took the cake.’ Some suggested that impacts with ring bergs knocked loose charged particles, which were then magnetically propelled out along radial lines, only to settle down and dissipate with their orbital speed differences across the great expanse of the B ring.”
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Comments (2)
Thank you for such a fascinating article. You were able to convey the passion and dedication Charley Kohlhase gave to accomplishing two of human kind's greatest discovery missions.
Having the images be selected by a man who is both artist and great navigator to the outer planets made for an insightful and beautiful aesthetic experience.
I hope there will be yet another article on his thoughts and achievements as the mission design manager for Cassini, which is flawlessly exploring Saturn. It is extraordinary that the same man is key in navigating another flawless mission. He truly deserved NASA's Distinguished Service Metal!
Posted by Linda Malm on January 27,2013 | 12:32 AM
A reminder of how wonderful the photos are from the amazing work done by NASA and their spacecraft. As a nation we need to reenergise and return to the space age.
Posted by Olaf Ohman on February 22,2013 | 02:17 PM