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Waspie_Dwarf
Sep 20 2006, 02:52 PM
Clouds at Dawn
September 20, 2006
Saturn's clouds billow and swirl in the turbulent zones of shear between eastward- and westward-flowing jets. This view looks toward the terminator on Saturn, where night gives way to day.
The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 338,000 kilometers (210,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 67 degrees. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Sep 22 2006, 01:55 PM
Blustery Bands
September 22, 2006
The Cassini spacecraft presents a tempestuous scene in which the clouds of Saturn's bright equatorial region entwine with those in darker, southerly latitudes.
See Seeing High in the Sky for a previously released wide-angle view of Saturn using the same spectral filter.
The image was taken using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The image was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 289,000 kilometers (180,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 14 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Sep 26 2006, 01:58 PM
Long-lived Vortices
September 26, 2006
With no solid land to obstruct their progress, dark vortices often roll through Saturn's atmosphere for months or years, before merging with other vortices. On Earth, the continents usually halt the progress of large storms, like hurricanes.
Vortices like these are part of the general circulation pattern of east-west flowing cloud bands, called jets, on Saturn.
The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 259,000 kilometers (161,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 12 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Sep 27 2006, 02:06 PM
So Much to See
September 27, 2006
This wide and sweeping view of the sunlit rings of Saturn takes in the impressive variety in their structure -- from the clumpy and perennially intriguing F ring to the many waves, ringlets and gaps in the A and B rings and the Cassini Division in between.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 640,000 kilometers (397,000 miles) from Saturn. The view was acquired from about 10 degrees below the ringplane. Image scale on the sky at the distance of Saturn is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Sep 29 2006, 01:17 PM
Encke Structure
September 29, 2006
Although the embedded moon Pan is nowhere to be seen, there is a bright clump-like feature visible here, within the Encke Division. Also discernable are periodic brightness variations along the outer (right side) gap edge.
See Revealing Pan's Influence for further information about Pan, the Encke Gap and its ringlets.
The view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 17 degrees below the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 421,000 kilometers (261,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale on the sky at the distance of Saturn is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 2 2006, 02:44 PM
Positive ID
October 2, 2006
The great basin that interrupts the contours of this moon's crescent identifies the satellite unmistakably as Mimas. The giant crater Herschel (130 kilometers, or 80 miles wide) is this moon's most obvious feature.
North on Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is up and rotated 23 degrees to the left.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 8, 2006 at a distance of approximately 534,000 kilometers (331,000 miles) from Mimas and at a Sun-Mimas-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 115 degrees. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 3 2006, 05:18 PM
Two Sculptors
October 3, 2006
Although difficult to see at first, more than one moon is at work sculpting Saturn's rings in this view from the Cassini spacecraft.
Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is more or less obvious just inside the clumpy and braided-looking F ring. But in the Keeler Gap, just inside the bright A ring edge, lurks Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across). The tiny moon and its attendant waves in the gap edges create a slight brightening of the gap at center.
This image is a wide-angle view taken concurrently with the higher resolution view seen in Daphnis At Work.
This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 17 degrees below the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 422,000 kilometers (262,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale on the sky at the distance of Saturn is 22 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 5 2006, 03:03 PM
The Spoke Search
October 5, 2006
A group of bright spokes tightly cluster together in Saturn's B ring. The spokes seen here generally all exhibit the same degree of shearing, or tilting, but some deviations are apparent. In this image, the direction to Saturn is downward; orbital motion is to the left.
Ring scientists are eager for data to help them understand and eventually explain how these mysterious ring features are created. To that end, Cassini has been directed to acquire movie sequences, like the one this image is part of, that watch for these elusive radial structures.
This observation focused on the morning side of the rings, the side where the rings are rotating out from Saturn's shadow. Spokes appear most frequently at this location.
Also barely visible in this image are broader, much fainter but still bright radial regions that extend over larger radial distances than the spokes in the upper left. Where these fainter features cross ringlets in the lower part of the image, slight variations in brightness are apparent. These are probably due to tiny particles, possibly part of a former spoke, that haven't yet settled down onto the ring plane.
Although their formation is still a subject of inquiry, scientists are confident that the microscopic spoke particles are slightly electrically charged and therefore are influenced by Saturn's magnetic field.
The brightness of the spokes, when combined with viewing geometry information and estimates of their particle sizes can help researchers determine the amount of material in the spokes--a crucial quantity to constrain theories of spoke formation.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 28, 2006, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 147 degrees. Scale in the original image was about 32 kilometers (20 miles) per pixel. The view has been magnified by a factor of two.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 6 2006, 01:44 PM
The Color of Darkness
October 6, 2006
Sunlight filters through Saturn's rings in sepia tones in this artful view from the Cassini spacecraft of the dark side of the rings. Those rays from the sun directly reflected from the lit side of the rings onto the planet strike and illuminate the night-side southern hemisphere.
The densely populated B ring blocks much of the Sun's light and thus looks quite dark.
Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) is a mere sliver below left.
Unprocessed wide-angle camera images taken in a high-phase viewing geometry generally contain stray light artifacts. These have largely been removed from this image by computer image processing.
Cassini was about 3 degrees above the ringplane when this image was obtained on Sept. 6, 2006. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken using the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 154 degrees. Image scale is 106 kilometers (66 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 9 2006, 04:59 PM
Flickering Aldebaran #1
October 9, 2006
The Cassini spacecraft took a series of images on Sept. 9, 2006 as it watched the bright red giant star Aldebaran slip behind Saturn's rings. This type of observation is known as a stellar occultation and uses a star whose brightness is well known. As Cassini watches the rings pass in front of the star, the star's light fluctuates, providing information about the concentrations of ring particles within the various radial features in the rings.
This view shows the Encke Gap (325 kilometers, or 200 miles wide) and the faint ringlets which share the gap with the embedded moon Pan. The view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 19 degrees below the ringplane. Bright Aldebaran is overexposed, creating thin vertical lines on its image.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 359,000 kilometers (233,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale on the sky at the distance of Saturn is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 10 2006, 05:03 PM
Transition on Tethys
October 10, 2006
An extreme false-color view of Tethys reveals a surface detail not visible in a monochrome view taken at the same time.
The false-color view shows a color transition from the moon's Saturn-facing side (at left) to a region its trailing side (at bottom).
Near the top of the images, the central-peaked crater Telemachus lies in the deeply grooved terrain that marks the northern reaches of Ithaca Chasma.
To create the false-color view, ultraviolet, green and infrared images were combined into a single picture that isolates and maps regional color differences. This "color map" was then superposed over a clear-filter image that preserves the relative brightness across the body.
The combination of color map and brightness image shows how colors vary across Tethys' surface. The origin of the color differences is not yet understood, but may be caused by subtle differences in the surface composition or the sizes of grains making up the icy surface material.
The monochrome image was taken using a clear filter.
North on Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) is up and rotated 36 degrees to the right.
The images used to create this view were acquired using the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 221,000 kilometers (137,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 52 degrees. Image scale is 1 kilometer (4,332 feet) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 11 2006, 01:08 PM
Flickering Aldebaran #2
October 11, 2006
Cassini took a series of images on Sept. 9, 2006 as it watched the bright red giant star Aldebaran slip behind Saturn's rings. This type of observation is known as a stellar occultation and uses a star whose brightness is well known. As Cassini watches the rings pass in front, the star's light fluctuates, providing information about the concentrations of ring particles within the various radial features in the rings.
This view looks toward the sunlit side of the outer A ring (just interior to the Encke Gap) from about 19 degrees below the ringplane. Bright Aldebaran is over exposed, creating thin vertical lines on its image.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 358,000 kilometers (223,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale on the sky at the distance of Saturn is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
frogfish
Oct 11 2006, 10:55 PM
Beautiful pics Waspie
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 13 2006, 01:37 PM
Flickering Aldebaran #3
October 13, 2006
Cassini took a series of images on Sept. 9, 2006 as it watched the bright red giant star Aldebaran slip behind Saturn's rings. This type of observation is known as a stellar occultation and uses a star whose brightness is well known. As Cassini watches the rings pass in front, the star's light fluctuates, providing information about the concentrations of ring particles within the various radial features in the rings.
Here, Cassini watches the star through the part of the rings masked by Saturn's shadow. The view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 20 degrees below the ringplane. Bright Aldebaran is over exposed, creating thin vertical lines on its image.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 9, 2006 at a distance of approximately 351,000 kilometers (218,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale on the sky at the distance of Saturn is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 17 2006, 10:13 PM
Light From a Flickering Star
October 16, 2006
The Cassini spacecraft looks through the dense B ring toward a distant star in an image from a recent stellar occultation observation. These observations point the camera toward a star whose brightness is well known. Then, as Cassini watches the rings pass in front, the star's light fluctuates, providing information about the concentrations of ring particles within the various radial features in the rings.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 35 degrees above the ringplane. The star's image is partly saturated, causing the vertical lines that extend up and down.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 26, 2006 at a distance of approximately 543,000 kilometers (338,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 106 degrees. Image scale is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 17 2006, 10:16 PM
Mimas in View
October 17, 2006
The Cassini spacecraft zooms in on Mimas, pitted by craters and slightly out-of-round. Cassini images taken during a flyby of Mimas in August 2005 were compiled into a movie showing the moon's battered surface up close (see Flying Over Mimas).
This view shows the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across). North is up and rotated 24 degrees to the left. The moon's night side is dimly lit by Saturnshine, which is sunlight reflected by the planet.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2006 at a distance of approximately 552,000 kilometers (343,000 miles) from Mimas and at a Sun-Mimas-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 106 degrees. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 18 2006, 01:13 PM
F Ring Dynamism
October 18, 2006
The Cassini spacecraft has revealed a never-before-seen level of detail in Saturn's F ring, including evidence for the perturbing effect of small moonlets orbiting in or close to the ring's bright core.
For some time, scientists have suspected the presence of tiny moonlets that orbit Saturn in association with the clumpy and braided-looking ring. As the small satellites move close to the F ring core they leave a gravitational signature. In some cases they can draw out material in the form of a "streamer"--a miniature version of the interaction Cassini has witnessed between Prometheus and the F ring material. The dynamics of this interaction are the same, but the scale is different. See http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/image-details.cfm?imageID=1719 for a view of Prometheus creating a streamer.
Scientists speculate that there could be several small moons with a variety of sizes involved in the creation of structures like the one seen here.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2006 at a distance of approximately 255,000 kilometers (159,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 29 degrees. Scale in the original image was 1 kilometer (3,873 feet) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and contrast enhanced.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 19 2006, 02:40 PM
Target: Tethys
October 19, 2006
Tethys has a crater-saturated surface, where older, larger basins have been completely overprinted by newer, smaller impacts. This state is what scientists expect to see on a very old surface, where small impactors have struck more frequently than larger ones over several billion years. Larger impacts were more common events in the early history of the solar system.
This view looks toward the leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across). North is up. The great scar of Ithaca Chasma is seen at right.
The view was captured in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2006 at a distance of approximately 449,000 kilometers (279,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 49 degrees. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 20 2006, 09:34 PM
A Compelling Case
October 20, 2006
Multiple faint, streamer-like objects can be seen in this high resolution Cassini spacecraft view of the F ring's bright core.
The regular spacing of some of the features extending from the core indicates that they could all be produced by the perturbing effect of a single body as it passes close by. Scientists are examining Cassini images closely in an attempt to determine whether there are tiny moonlets -- or perhaps transient clumps of material -- orbiting Saturn near the F ring core. The researchers believe the streamer features seen here could be caused by a related phenomenon to that by which Prometheus produces streamers in the F ring (see Passing Lane).
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2006 at a distance of approximately 339,000 kilometers (211,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 69 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 23 2006, 05:00 PM
Dione's Creeping Canyons
October 23, 2006
Bright fractures creep across the surface of icy Dione. This extensive canyon system is centered on a region of terrain that is significantly darker that the rest of the moon. Part of the darker terrain is visible at right.
Lit terrain in this view is on the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across). North is up and rotated eight degrees to the left.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2006 at a distance of approximately 677,000 kilometers (421,000 miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 62 degrees. Image scale is 4 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 24 2006, 04:20 PM
Shearing Core
October 24, 2006
This close-up view of the core of Saturn's narrow outlying F ring provides an unprecedented look at the fine scale structure of this highly perturbed ring.
Like F Ring Dynamism, the structure seen here could be further evidence of the gravitational effects of small moons orbiting in the F ring region. The moons could produce the basic structure which then starts to shear -- the inner/lower part of the F ring core orbits Saturn faster than the outer/upper part -- giving rise to the slanted features.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2006 at a distance of approximately 254,000 kilometers (158,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 28 degrees. Scale in the original image was 1 kilometer (3,845 feet) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and contrast enhanced.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 25 2006, 01:52 PM
Tiny Moons, Big Effects
October 25, 2006
The two prominent dark gaps in Saturn's A ring contain small embedded moons and a host of other intriguing features.
Here, three unique ringlets are visible in the Encke gap (325 kilometers, or 200 miles wide). The innermost ringlet (topmost here) is faint but continuous. The center ringlet brightens substantially toward upper left and displays a few slight kinks. This ringlet is coincident with the orbit of Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across). The outermost ringlet is discontinuous, with two bright regions visible.
The narrower Keeler gap (42 kilometers, or 26 miles wide) hosts the moon Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across, not in this image), which raises waves in the gap edges as it orbits Saturn (see Daphnis At Work).
At lower left, faint ringlets flanking the bright F ring core are visible. These features were found by the Cassini spacecraft to be arranged into a spiral arm structure that winds around the planet like a spring. The spiral may be caused by tiny moonlets or clumps of material that have smashed through the F ring core and liberated material.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 23 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 11, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 151 degrees. Image scale is about 6 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 26 2006, 01:38 PM
Superb Janus
October 26, 2006
The Cassini spacecraft provides this dramatic portrait of Janus against the cloud-streaked backdrop of Saturn.
Like many small bodies in the solar system, Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) is potato-shaped with many craters, and the moon has a surface that looks as though it has been smoothed by some process. Like Pandora (see Pandora's Color Close-up) and Telesto (see A Closer Look at Telesto), Janus may be covered with a mantle of fine dust-sized, icy material.
The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 930 nanometers. The view was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 25, 2006 at a distance of approximately 145,000 kilometers (90,000 miles) from Janus and at a Sun-Janus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 62 degrees. North on Saturn is up. Image scale is 871 meters (2,858 feet) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 27 2006, 01:42 PM
Into the Light
October 27, 2006
As ring particles emerge from the darkness of Saturn's shadow, they pass through a region of twilight. The Sun's light, refracted by the planet's atmosphere, peeks around the limb, followed shortly by the Sun itself (see In Saturn's Shadow for an example of this effect).
The "penumbra" is the narrow fringe region of the planet's shadow where part (but not all) of the Sun is visible around the side of the planet, creating only a partial shadow there and making the shadow edge look fuzzy.
The A and F rings are captured here. This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 20 degrees above the ringplane. Two faint ringlets can be seen within the Encke gap, which stretches out of the blackness at center and toward right.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 12, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163 degrees. Image scale is about 9 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 30 2006, 02:31 PM
Through the Blinds
October 30, 2006
The Cassini spacecraft gazes down through the dark side of Saturn's rings toward the softly glowing planet. The night side southern hemisphere is lit by sunlight reflecting off the opposite side of the rings. The planet's shadow slices diagonally across the scene.
This view was acquired from about 23 degrees above the ringplane. The sliver of Saturn's sunlit crescent is partly overexposed as seen through the Cassini Division, a region where there is less material to block or scatter incoming light.
Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 11, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 151 degrees. Image scale is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Oct 31 2006, 03:44 PM
A Dead Giveaway
October 31, 2006
Edge waves in the Keeler Gap betray the presence of the embedded moon Daphnis.
Though the Cassini spacecraft cannot see Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across) in this image (because the spacecraft is looking at its dark side), the tiny moon is undoubtedly located right of center, where the inner edge waves cease and the outer waves begin. The little moon was discovered in Cassini images that revealed its signature waves in the Keeler gap (42 kilometers, or 26 miles wide).
At left lies the brilliant F ring with its flanking strands. The bright F ring core is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) wide.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 32 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 29, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 157 degrees. Image scale is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 1 2006, 04:09 PM
The B Ring Variations
November 1, 2006
These side-by-side views of a star seen through Saturn's densely populated B ring show marked contrast between the region where spokes -- the ghostly radial features periodically seen in the B ring -- are produced and regions where no spokes are seen.
In the view at left, the ring displays an uneven grainy texture, with a great deal of variability in brightness along the direction of ring particle motion. In the view at right, the ring is far smoother and more uniform along the same longitudinal direction.
Ring scientists on the Cassini Imaging Team are studying images such as these to understand the processes by which spokes are created. This difference in appearance from one location to another on the ring could provide the researchers with helpful insights into the features' formation.
The views were acquired about half an hour apart as the Cassini spacecraft looked toward the unlit side of the rings from about 33 degrees above the ringplane.
The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 26, 2006 at a distance of approximately 515,000 kilometers (320,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 102 degrees. Image scale is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 4 2006, 12:24 AM
Dim Rings
November 2, 2006
Saturn's rings are dark and elusive in this view from high above the ringplane, but their shadows on the planet give them away.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 37 degrees above the ringplane. The D, C, and B rings and the innermost A ring fill this view, although the rings are quite dark and difficult to see. Their structure is far clearer on the planet at right. Near upper right is a dot-like shadow, likely that of the small moon Janus.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 27, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 137 degrees. Image scale is 58 kilometers (36 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 4 2006, 12:27 AM
Spoke Sighting
November 3, 2006
This contrast-enhanced view shows a faint spoke in Saturn's B ring. These ghostly radial structures were imaged by the Voyager spacecraft in the 1980s. Using the Cassini spacecraft data, scientists are hoping to piece together an understanding of how these mysterious features form.
The Sun-ring-spacecraft viewing angle makes quite a difference in the spokes' appearance: they appear bright against the rings when seen at high phase angles and darker than the rings at lower phase angles. This view was acquired at a phase angle of 133 degrees.
The scene looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 6 degrees below the ringplane.
A train of clumplike structures curls around the F ring at left.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 24, 2006 at a distance of approximately 999,000 kilometers (621,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 56 kilometers (35 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 6 2006, 04:26 PM
The Hand of Prometheus
November 6, 2006
A shepherd moon can do more to define ring structures than just keep the flock of particles in line, as Cassini spacecraft images such as this have shown.
Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is seen here with two long streamers of material that it has pulled out of the F ring. When Prometheus comes close to the F ring in its orbit, the moon's gravity tugs on the ring particles. The disturbed particles, now pulled into orbits slightly closer to Saturn and therefore faster, shear out during successive orbits, creating the long and delicate streamers seen here.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 31 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 29, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 160 degrees. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 7 2006, 02:54 PM
The Hand of Prometheus
November 7, 2006
Saturn's B and C rings shine in diffuse, scattered light as the Cassini spacecraft looks on the planet's night side. The southern hemisphere is lit by sunlight reflecting off the rings, while the north shines much more feebly in the dim light that filters through the rings and is scattered on the northern hemisphere.
The fine, innermost rings are seen silhouetted against the southern hemisphere of the planet before partially disappearing into shadow.
The color of the rings appears more golden because of the increased scattering in the rings brought about by the high phase angle and the view being toward rings' the unlit side. Saturn also looks more golden because of the high phase angle here.
Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained by the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 28, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 151 degrees. Image scale is 83 kilometers (51 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 8 2006, 02:16 PM
Bright in the Night
November 8, 2006
The bright ringlets seen here are populated with microscopic icy particles and are among the brightest features in the rings at high phase angles.
The twisted core of the F ring, at left, is flanked by three fainter ringlets which are, in fact, part of a separate continuous structure that spirals around the planet. Right of center, in the Encke Gap, are three tortured-looking ringlets.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 12 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 7, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163 degrees. Image scale is about 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 9 2006, 04:22 PM
Colorful Division
November 9, 2006
The rings are awash in subtle tones of gold and cream in this view which shows the outer B ring, the Cassini Division and the inner part of the A ring.
In this viewing geometry, the brightest feature in the Cassini Division is the recently discovered diffuse ringlet near the outer edge of the Division (see also PIA08330). The diffuse ringlet has a distinctive bluish cast.
The color of the rings appears more golden than earlier in the mission because of the viewing geometry here -- increased scattering in the rings is brought about by the high phase angle and the view being toward the rings' unlit side.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 30 degrees above the ringplane.
Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired by the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 29, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.829 million kilometers (1.137 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 10 2006, 06:34 PM
Resplendent Rhea
November 10, 2006
Bright streaks adorn the face of densely cratered Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon.
The lit terrain seen here is on the leading hemisphere of Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across). North is up and rotated five degrees to the right.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 11, 2006 at a distance of approximately 756,000 kilometers (470,000 miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 49 degrees. Image scale is 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 13 2006, 02:41 PM
Streamers and Clumps
November 13, 2006
The A and F rings are alive with moving structures in this Cassini spacecraft view. Graceful drapes of ring material created by Prometheus are seen sliding by at left, while clumpy ringlets slip through the Encke Gap.
Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is all but invisible to the right of the lowest streamer seen here.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 12 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 7, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163 degrees. Image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 15 2006, 10:57 AM
Hyperion's Pitted Surface
November 14, 2006
This color view of Hyperion shows off the dark pits that cover this strangely shaped moon.
At 280 kilometers (174 miles) across, Hyperion is the largest irregularly shaped moon in the solar system. See Rosy Tan Moon for another color view.
Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained by the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 10, 2006 at a distance of approximately 998,000 kilometers (620,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 6 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 15 2006, 03:10 PM
Encke's Kinks
November 15, 2006
Bright, kinked ringlets fill the Encke Gap, while the F ring glows brilliantly and displays its signature knots and flanking, diffuse ringlets.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 13 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 7, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163 degrees. Image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 16 2006, 10:15 PM
Toying with Gravity
November 16, 2006
This view, like The Hand of Prometheus, shows Prometheus with a streamer it has created in the inner edge of the F ring. Prometheus comes close to the inner edge of the ring once per orbit, perturbing the ring particles there. In 2009, the moon's orbit is expected to carry it repeatedly into the F ring core, an event that ring scientists are eagerly awaiting.
Prometheus is 102 kilometers (63 miles) across. This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 40 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 150 degrees. Scale in the original image was 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 20 2006, 03:41 PM
The Spoke Zone
November 20, 2006
The spoke-producing region of the B ring displays fine-scale asymmetry in the azimuthal direction -- the direction along which the ring particles orbit Saturn -- from upper left to lower right across the image.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 14 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 12, 2006 at a distance of approximately 429,000 kilometers (267,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 21 2006, 02:09 PM
Holey Dione!
November 21, 2006
Craters of all sizes litter the landscape on Dione. The larger craters in this view display prominent central peaks.
The image looks down onto northern latitudes on Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across). Lit terrain seen here is on the moon's anti-Saturn side.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 12, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 94 degrees. Image scale is 6 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 22 2006, 03:57 PM
The Other Shepherd
November 22, 2006
Less intrusive than her sibling shepherd moon, Pandora nonetheless provides a gravitational influence that helps confine and perturb the F ring's shape.
See Pandora's Color Close-up for a high resolution view of Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across).
Also notable here is the brightness of the region of the outer A ring which lies outside the very narrow Keeler gap.
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 38 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Pandora and at a Sun-Pandora-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 157 degrees. Image scale is 12 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 23 2006, 05:45 PM
The Search for Spokes
November 23, 2006
A broad and ghostly spoke drifts past under the Cassini spacecraft's gaze. The spoke-forming region of the B ring displays faint longitudinal variations in brightness, from left to right, a feature seen in other images (see The B Ring Variations).
This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 35 degrees above the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 17, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 158 degrees. Image scale is 12 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 24 2006, 02:43 PM
Brilliant Pan
November 24, 2006
This Cassini spacecraft view of Pan in the Encke gap shows hints of detail on the moon's dark side, which is lit by saturnshine -- sunlight reflected off Saturn.
Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) cruises the Encke gap (325 kilometers, or 200 miles wide) with several faint ringlets.
This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 52 degrees below the ringplane. The sunlit portion of Pan is partly overexposed.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 27, 2006 at a distance of approximately 385,000 kilometers (239,000 miles) from Pan and at a Sun-Pan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 86 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 27 2006, 03:01 PM
North on Dione
November 27, 2006
Dione looks lovely half lit in this portrait from the Cassini spacecraft. Just visible is a long canyon running southward just left of the terminator.
The view looks down at northern latitudes on the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across).
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 29, 2006 at a distance of approximately 939,000 kilometers (583,000 miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 101 degrees. Image scale is 6 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini
Waspie_Dwarf
Nov 28 2006, 02:23 PM
Edge Waves
November 28, 2006
Daphnis drifts through the Keeler gap, at the center of its entourage of waves.
The little moon (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across) draws material in the Keeler gap (42 kilometers, or 26 miles wide) into these now familiar edge waves as it orbits Saturn.
This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 25 degrees below the ringplane.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 27, 2006 at a distance of approximately 325,000 kilometers (202,000 miles) from Daphnis and at a Sun-Daphnis-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 36 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo. <