Another animation, this time from April 24, 2009, made from 116 raw images from the Cassini spacecraft. The orbiting Cassini focused its camera on Prometheus as it dipped into the F ring and back out again, pulling the icy dust into wispy strands with its passing. Prometheus’ oblong shape can be seen clearly here…it…
Category: Saturn
A Rainbow of Rings
Saturn’s amazing and beautiful rings cast their shadow over its cloud tops, dividing its north and south hemispheres in this image from Cassini. The spacecraft was 621,000 miles from the planet when it took this picture on February 28, 2009. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Regarding a Ring
Made from 127 raw images received from the Cassini spacecraft on April 17th, this sequence shows the varied structure of the F ring as it is influenced by passing moons, clumps of material and its own twisted composition. Initially calm, with only background stars marking the passage of time, a passing moon outside the…
The Dark Half
The 914-mile-wide Iapetus turns its darker side towards Cassini’s cameras in this photo, taken on March 3, 2009, while a hint of its brighter face shows along its northern edge. This moon of Saturn has the distinction of being coated in dark material on one side, and bright white material on the other. Theories…
Following a Moon Shadow
I assembled this animation from 20 separate raw images, taken by Cassini on April 9th. It follows the elongated shadow of a moon, most likely Epimetheus (not officially specified), across the tops of Saturn’s rings. Beginning on the bright B ring the shadow moves across it, over the darker bands of the Cassini division,…
Hazed and Diffused
Cassini captured this intriguing glimpse into Titan’s thick haze during its latest flyby. Made up of complex hydrocarbons, formed from the breakdown of methane by solar radiation, this pale blue shroud extends hundreds of miles above the moon’s surface…ten times thicker, in fact, than our own atmosphere. This is a raw image from the…
Dawn’s Light
The light of daybreak illuminates Saturn’s northern hemisphere and ring system in this dramatic image taken on March 20 by the Cassini spacecraft. From Saturn outward (lower right to upper left) the C, B, A, and thin F rings are visible. The B and A rings are separated by a darker band of thing rings…
Ice Volcanoes on Titan?
This infrared image, taken by Cassini during a March 27, 2009 flyby of Titan, shows a bright area of topography called “Hotei Arcus” that is believed to be active with volcanoes that ooze slushy ice rather than molten rock. Over the past four years, this area has undergone variations in brightness that indicate resurfacing activity of…
Four Centuries of Discovery
I received a wonderfully written email today from Cassini Team Leader Carolyn Porco about the “100 Hours of Astronomy” event and how the Cassini team is joining the celebration by honoring the 4ooth year anniversary of Galileo’s first look at Saturn through his groundbreaking invention: the astronomical telescope. Here’s the note: Dear Friends and…
Crossing the Gap
These 6 frames made up of raw images from Cassini’s narrow-angle camera show the shadow of a moon – Epimetheus, perhaps? – drifting across the Encke Gap, a 200-mile-wide channel in Saturn’s A ring kept clear by the shepherd moon Pan. The central median ringlet is just visible in these images. With Saturn approaching…
Streaming Content
This 14-frame animation shows the effect of Prometheus on Saturn’s F ring as it travels alongside, its gravity pulling the ring material into streamers that trail in its wake. A clump of ring material leads in front of the moon on the opposite side of the ring. Honestly, I’m not sure what causes this…
A Twilight Moon
In addition to its enshrouding atmosphere, Saturn’s moon Titan also has a high layer of haze that encircles it. Made up of complex hydrocarbons from the breakdown of methane and nitrogen, this haze completely covers the moon and extends over 670 miles into space. 3,200 miles across, Titan’s atmosphere is 10 times thicker and…
Lights in the Dark 