![]() The ring coincides with the orbits of Saturn's moons Janus and Epimetheus. 17, 2006: Scientists discover a new ring. The probe provides the first direct study of Titan's atmosphere and the first-and-only direct images of Titan's surface, which is shrouded by thick 14, 2005: The European Space Agency's Huygens probe is the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the surface of another planet's moon - Saturn's giant moon Titan. July 1, 2004: NASA's Cassini spacecraft becomes the first to orbit Saturn, beginning a decade-long mission that revealed many secrets and surprises about Saturn and its system of rings and moons.Flying even closer to Saturn in 1981, Voyager 2 provides more detailed images and documents the thinness of some of the rings. 19: In its 1980 flyby of Saturn, Voyager 1 reveals the intricate structure of the ring system, consisting of thousands of ringlets.Among Pioneer 11's many discoveries are Saturn's F ring and a new moon. 1, 1979: Pioneer 11 is the first spacecraft to reach Saturn. 1675: Italian-born astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini discovers a "division" between what are now called the A and B rings.1655: Christiaan Huygens discovers Saturn's rings and its largest moon, Titan.July 1610: Galileo Galilei spots Saturn's rings through a telescope, but mistakes them for a "triple planet.".Credit: NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Caltech / Academia de Arte Yepes Criticism was also leveled at the poor steering feel, awkward controls and lack of storage.Cassini: Unveiling the Myth poster. ![]() The convertible top in particular was a big disappointment: More than one tester ended up taking an extra five or 10 minutes trying to completely stow the top under the boot, only to give up and drive with the warning bell reminding them of their failure. I'll take two.Įrgonomics drew less praise. I'll take my Sky Red Line in black with red leather, please. One push on the center of the top, once it's folded, ensures that it is completely stowed and that the trunk will close. But popping the huge trunk, unlocking one latch, and feeding the thing into the trunk really isn't that difficult. If you consider that the standard, then this thing is downright primative (I think a roadster should be all about the basics). Sure, you can approach a BMW Z4 and put the top and windows down from 50 feet away with your key. I disagree with many people who believe this car has a finicky top. It's fun to watch the little digital boost gauge go from vacuum to 19 psi in such a hurry - that is, if you can keep your eyes on it. This was the first car that I have driven that has a turbo charger, makes lots of boost pressure, and yet has almost no lag. It shares the torque tube design, a stiff chassis, the corporate steering wheel and the brakes have a similar feel as well. I was surprised at how much this car felt like a baby Corvette (although, you are spending less money, so you do get less car). I've driven both the Sky and the Sky Red Line. Criticism was also leveled at the poor steering feel, awkward controls and lack of storage. Power delivery was smooth and linear, which might make this combination a good choice if you’re going bracket racing at your local dragstrip.Įrgonomics drew less praise. (More and more cars have them lately, but few are any good.) The engine felt very strong, sounding off with all of the compulsory turbo pops and whistles as we got into the boost. We were surprised, but not disappointed, to find that the automatic didn’t feature some sort of paddle shifting feature. Still, we couldn’t help but notice that the automatic snapped off its shifts quickly and smoothly, leaving very little for us to complain about other than the fact that we couldn’t choose our own gears. We generally prefer to do the shifting ourselves, particularly with a sporting car like this. Our test car came with the 260 horsepower engine and optional five-speed automatic transmission. Not only that, but Sky and Solstice are also available with a direct-injection turbocharged motor that pushes 260 horsepower, more than any factory Miata can claim. A market that was once all but sewn up by Mazda has been cut open again by The General’s duo of entry-level roadsters. But not as good as: a Sky with a turbocharger and a clutch pedal.įor a car that’s only been in production a few years, the Saturn Sky (and its kissing cousin the Solstice) has infiltrated the sports car market with surprising efficiency.
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