Saturn, Saturn's Moons

Details of Dione

Posted by Jason Major on

Here’s some awesome just-released raw images from Cassini’s flyby of Dione earlier this morning! The low angle of sunlight brings out the detail of the moon’s rugged terrain, peppered with ancient craters of all sizes and gouged by long scars of steep, icy cliffs.

"Wispy lines" disappear into dark craters
"The most heavily cratered world in the solar system"
Reflective ice exposed on steep cliffs create Dione's bright "wispy lines"
A beautiful Cassini portrait of the 700-mile-wide Dione

Fantastic! Thanks to team leader Carolyn Porco for alerting us to these images today via email…and be sure to check out several more images on the Cassini imaging team site here.

Image credits: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute