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,…
Tag: rings
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…
Sheer Elegance
Viewed from the unlit side, the delicate transparency of Saturn’s innermost “C” Ring becomes apparent in this photo. Saturn’s upper atmospheric haze can be seen through the dark material of the rings. This photo shows a natural color view. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Making Waves
Little Daphnis sends waves curling in its wake as it courses along the Keeler Gap in Saturn’s A-ring in this photo from Cassini’s narrow-angle camera. The image was taken on January 31, 2009, approximately 532,000 miles from Daphnis and the rings. Daphnis is about 5 miles in diameter. The Keeler Gap is 26 miles…
Rings Upon Rings
The stately geometry of Saturn’s rings is showcased here in this photo taken by Cassini on January 14. This image spans a distance of about 2,028 miles. Saturn’s rings are composed of particles of ice, rock and dust extending hundreds of thousands of miles into orbit, but only about 30 feet thick. Their age…
Stormy Skies
A blue-tinted circular storm blemishes Saturn’s creamy complexion while wispy rings slice the planet with their shadows. This photo, shown in true color, was taken by Cassini’s wide-angle camera at an orbiting distance of 662,000 miles. Saturn is mostly atmosphere, and a stormy one at that, made of hydrogen, helium and traces of ammonia and…
Ancient Scars
Old craters are overlapped by younger ones in this image of Saturn’s moon Rhea, taken by the Cassini orbiter on August 29, 2008 and released today. The 950-mile-wide moon holds the distinction as the only known moon to have its own set of rings: a thin, scattered version of its parent’s signature trait. Perhaps…
Prometheus Unbound
One of several tiny “shepherd” moons, a well-lit Prometheus cruises the gap between Saturn’s A and F rings, clearing the channel while pulling up a small plume of material from the ropy F ring as it passes by. This is from raw image data shot by Cassini on February 10, 2009. I adjusted the image…
Lights in the Dark 