A stunning image by Cassini, received today, of Daphnis splashing through the Keeler Gap (as seen in my last post). In this photo the sunlight is coming from the opposite direction though. Saturn’s massive shadow falls upon the rings on the right side of this image. Background stars can be seen through the rings. From…
Tag: rings
Wave Forms
Cast shadows reveal some interesting structure in the waves sent up by little Daphnis in this image, taken by the Cassini spacecraft on June 26, 2009. Daphnis orbits Saturn within the 26-mile-wide Keeler gap in the A ring. Its gravity disrupts the edges of the gap, carving scalloped edges in the ring material and also,…
Chasing Shadows
This animation, made from raw images received on June 22, brings us on a flight above Saturn’s B and A rings looking down over the 3,000-mile wide Cassini Division, following the elongated shadow of a moon cast upon – and through – the ring material. The different densities of the ring segments are made apparent…
Cast Shadow
The shadow of Mimas falls across the Cassini Division in this beautiful natural color, wide-angle view from Cassini’s camera. Views like these are possible only once every 15 years, as Saturn’s spring and autumn equinoxes bring its rings and moons into horizontal alignment with the equitorial plane of the solar system and the light of…
Dark Shadows
A sliver of a shadow, thousands of miles long, slices into the twilight side of Saturn’s rings and drifts off the edge of the A ring in this 8-frame animation. (Click the image to play.) As well as the motion of the moon shadow, thicker sections of the F ring can be seen moving along…
Pandorama
This animation, made up of 7 raw image frames taken by Cassini’s wide-angle camera, shows Saturn’s ring system ponderously rotating, the reflected light off the gas giant illuminating the dark material of the Cassini Division. In the lower right the moon Pandora orbits outside the twisted cords of the F ring. The planet itself is…
Little Sculptor
Another great raw image from the Cassini orbiter, showing the shepherd moon Daphnis raising high-crested waves in the edges of Saturn’s A ring bordering the Keeler Gap. Shadows cast by the low-angle sunlight show the height of these sinuous disturbances. Daphnis’ gravity affects the ring material both in front of it and behind. Discovered…
Ripples Have Ridges
Another great image showing Saturn’s moon Daphnis sending up high-walled waves in the ring material edging the Keeler Gap in which it resides. The waves cast shadows back onto the A ring, as does the moon itself. This image was taken on May 24, 2009 by the Cassini spacecraft. RAW image: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Into the Shadows
Saturn’s shadow falls upon its rings in this image acquired by Cassini on March 20, 2009. Reflected light from the southern hemisphere of the planet illuminates part of the normally transparent C ring, silhouetting the ring segments there. This image is an approximate true-color view of the planet and rings as might be seen…
Capturing Pan’s Shadow
Cassini took this photo yesterday, May 9th, as 16-mile-wide shepherd moon Pan passed along its path through the Encke Gap. Its shadow falls upon the A ring, pointing toward Saturn. (I colored the image to approximate visible light coloration based on other true-color calibrations. The original raw image can be seen here.) Pan is…
Shadow Facts
A moon’s shadow falls upon ring after ring in this image, taken on April 29 by Cassini. Varying brightnesses and compositions of ring segments scatter light differently, as shown above. With Saturn’s spring equinox (August 11) getting closer every day, the ringplane – and orbital plane of many of its moons – are approaching a perpendicular…
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
Lights in the Dark 