Pan's Progress
January 19, 2007

This psychedelic view of Saturn and its rings is a composite made from images taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728, 752 and 890 nanometers.

Cassini acquired the view on Dec. 13, 2006 at a distance of approximately 822,000 kilometers (511,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 46 kilometers (28 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

Stars and Stripes ... and Spokes
January 22, 2007

From on high, the Cassini spacecraft spots a group of faint spokes against the striped landscape of the B ring, the dark region in the middle of the rings here. The spokes appear as irregular blotches, bright against the unlit side of the rings.

Outside the rings, at about the two o'clock position in the image, is the moon Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across). The two points of light below center, on both sides of the F ring, are not the shepherd moons Prometheus and Pandora, but rather, are stars in the background. Other faint stars are also visible in the image.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 46 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 20, 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 144 degrees. Image scale is 109 kilometers (68 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

Toward Morning
January 23, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft looks toward daybreak on Saturn through the delicate strands of the C ring. Some structure and contrast is visible in the clouds far below.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 18 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 862 nanometers. The view was acquired on Nov. 4, 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 162 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

The Bends
January 24, 2007

Bright undulations disturb a faint ringlet drifting through the center of the Encke Gap. This ring structure shares the orbit of the moon Pan.

A second, fainter ringlet is visible below the central ringlet.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 44 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 14, 2006 at a distance of approximately 462,000 kilometers (287,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 2 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

Down Below
January 25, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft's current high-inclination orbit allows for some fantastic perspectives, like this shot of Saturn's south pole, which looks toward the rings beyond.

The dark bullseye at the pole marks the eye of a great hurricane-like storm investigated by Cassini in 2006.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was acquired on Dec. 13, 2006 at a distance of approximately 790,000 kilometers (491,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 44 kilometers (27 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

Breakup Captured?
January 26, 2007

These two images, taken about eight minutes apart, show clump-like structures and a great deal of dust in Saturn's ever-changing F ring. The images show an object-interior to and detached from the bright core of the F ring that appears to be breaking up into discrete clumps.

Cassini scientists have been monitoring clumps in the F ring for more than two years now, trying to understand whether these represent small permanent moonlets or transient aggregates of material. (See The Clump/Moon Mystery)

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 35 degrees above the ringplane.

The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 23, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.2 million 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

Cloud Lanes
January 29, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft captures the ripples, loops and storms that swirl in Saturn's east-west flowing cloud bands.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was obtained on Dec. 13, 2006 at a distance of approximately 775,000 kilometers (482,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 43 kilometers (27 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

Unknown Origin
January 30, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft continues to observe brightness variations along the orbital direction within Saturn's B ring.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 53 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 17, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 8 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

Agitators of the Atmosphere
January 31, 2007

Two bright vortices roll across the cloud-lined face of Saturn, where winds howl at high speeds never experienced on Earth.

This view was acquired at about the same time as Cloud Lanes but the planet appears darker here. This is because the spectral filter used to acquire this image looks at a part of the spectrum where methane absorption in Saturn's atmosphere is stronger. Thus, photons do not penetrate as deep into the Saturn atmosphere as they do at the wavelengths observed in Cloud Lanes. Since more photons are absorbed here, the planet looks darker.

The icy particles composing the rings do not contain methane, and therefore appear bright relative to Saturn.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 862 nanometers. The view was obtained using the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 13, 2006 at a distance of approximately 775,000 kilometers (481,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 43 kilometers (27 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

The Inner Rings
February 1, 2007


The Cassini spacecraft looks toward the innermost region of Saturn's rings, capturing (from right to left) the C and B rings. The dark, inner edge of the Cassini Division is just visible in the lower left corner. (The innermost D ring is too faint to be clearly seen here.)

The image looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 50 degrees above the ringplane. Thus, from this perspective, the Sun's light makes particles visible as it scatters through the rings toward the camera.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 17, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 64 kilometers (40 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

A Helpful Star
February 5, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft gazes toward a distant star as Saturn's rings slip past in the foreground. At upper left is the outer A ring, with its dark Keeler Gap. At lower right, a train of bright clumps shuttles past in the wispy F ring.

A temporal sequence of images like this allows Cassini scientists to correlate features in the rings with stellar occultation data acquired by other instruments. As the star passes behind the rings, the changes in its brightness indicate how much empty space is between particles at different locations on the rings.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 56 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 30, 2006 at a distance of approximately 633,440 kilometers (393,686 miles) from Saturn. 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

Odysseus on the Edge
February 6, 2007

These side-by-side natural color and false-color views show cratered terrain on the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Tethys -- the side that always faces away from Saturn.

The rim of the immense impact basin of Odysseus (450 kilometers or 280 miles across) lies on the eastern limb, at the 2 o'clock position, making the limb there appear flatter than elsewhere. Other large craters seen here are Penelope (left of center) and Melanthius (below center).

The region between Penelope and Odysseus has not previously been imaged at such high resolution before.

The natural color view was created by compositing images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters.

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 superimposed 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 the surface of Tethys. 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.

North on Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) is up.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 31, 2006 at a distance of approximately 414,000 kilometers (257,000 miles) from Tethys. Image scale is 2 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

Odysseus on the Edge II
February 6, 2007

See Odysseus on the Edge for original comparison image.

From that caption:

These side-by-side natural color and false-color views show cratered terrain on the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Tethys -- the side that always faces away from Saturn. The rim of the immense impact basin of Odysseus (450 kilometers or 280 miles across) lies on the eastern limb, at the 2 o'clock position, making the limb there appear flatter than elsewhere. Other large craters seen here are Penelope (left of center) and Melanthius (below center).

The region between Penelope and Odysseus has not previously been imaged at such high resolution before.

The natural color view was created by compositing images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters.

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 superimposed 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 the surface of Tethys. 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.

North on Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) is up.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 31, 2006 at a distance of approximately 414,000 kilometers (257,000 miles) from Tethys. Image scale is 2 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

Faint Spokes
February 7, 2007

The dark B ring of Saturn is highlighted here by numerous faint spokes. The two most prominent spokes are seen below and to the right of center.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane. Saturn's shadow cuts across the rings at lower left. The pixelated appearance of the shadow edge results from the extreme enhancement used to make the spokes more visible.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 6, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 104 kilometers (65 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

Smooth Sailing
February 8, 2007

The smooth, linear contours and long, gently meandering character of the clouds in this view suggest stable prevailing winds at these latitudes, from 57 to 67 degrees north on Saturn.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 3, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 16 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

Into the Shadow
February 9, 2007

The strands of Saturn's F ring disappear into the darkness of the planet's shadow. Background stars make trails across the sky during the long exposure.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 55 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 3, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 108 degrees. Image scale is 8 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

One Shepherd Moon
February 12, 2007

This view of the unlit side of Saturn's rings captures the small shepherd moon Pandora as it swings around the outside of the F ring. The F ring displays a few discrete bright clumps here.

This view looks toward the rings from about 24 degrees above the ringplane. Pandora is 84 kilometers (52 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 15, 2006 at a distance of approximately 680,000 kilometers (422,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 37 kilometers (23 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

Round Vortex
February 13, 2007

This close-up view of Saturn's atmosphere shows a circular vortex surrounded by numerous attendant bright clouds.

Some blurring due to spacecraft motion is apparent in this view.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 3, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 15 kilometers (9 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

Spoke Siblings
February 14, 2007

This group of spokes in Saturn's B ring extends over more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) radially across the ringplane.

The bright wedge to the left of center has a trailing edge (its top right edge) which is nearly radial and a leading edge which is sheared by about 30 degrees (forming a "Y" shape). The rest of the spokes also seem to be sheared by the same amount on both edges.

Scientists believe that spokes are essentially radial when they form. From this amount of shear, ring scientists deduce that the spokes in this group probably were all created at about the same time. Combining the amount of the spokes' shear with their radial distance from Saturn provides an approximate time when the features were created -- about 100 minutes before this image was taken.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 47 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 7, 2007 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 145 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

Epimetheus and the Dark Side
February 15, 2007

Epimetheus is a lonely dot beyond Saturn's rings. The little moon appears at lower left, outside the narrow F ring.

Several very faint spokes lurk in the B ring, at right.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 49 degrees above the ringplane. Epimetheus is 116 kilometers (72 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 17, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 63 kilometers (39 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

Color Across Rhea
February 16, 2007

Side-by-side natural color and false-color views highlight the wispy terrain on Rhea's trailing hemisphere.

The extreme false color image makes it clear that the wisps -- likely networks of fractures as on Dione -- cut across older, cratered terrain. In addition, a set of thin, north-south trending lineaments (also likely fractures) is visible on the left side of both views.

The natural color view was created by compositing images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters.

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 superimposed 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 the surface of Rhea. 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. North on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) is up.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 17, 2007 at a distance of approximately 597,000 kilometers (371,000 miles) from Rhea. 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

Southern Exposure
February 20, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft captures a spectacular view of Saturn's banded southern hemisphere and dark central polar storm, while its dazzling rings lie far beyond the horizon.

The image was taken by the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light. The image was obtained on Jan. 31, 2007 at a distance of approximately 979,000 kilometers (608,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 110 kilometers (68 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

Disturbances by Daphnis
February 22, 2007

Daphnis cruises through the Keeler Gap, raising edge waves in the ring material as it passes.

As is characteristic of waves raised by a moon on the edges of a very narrow gap like Keeler, the wave begins as a coherent form near Daphnis and becomes less so with increasing orbital distance from the moon. Daphnis is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) across.

This view looks upon the lit side of the rings from about 31 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 17, 2007 at a distance of approximately 768,000 kilometers (477,000 miles) from Daphnis. 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

Tempest-Tossed Saturn
February 23, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft views Saturn's southern latitudes in color, spying a great, eye-shaped vortex just northward of the south polar region. Other dark vortices, common features of Saturn's general circulation, are visible in the mid-latitudes.

Contrast in the image was enhanced to make features in the atmosphere more visible.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this near-natural color view. The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 14, 2007 at a distance of approximately 958,000 kilometers (595,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 54 kilometers (33 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

Drawing Out Details
February 26, 2007

Rhea displays a marked color contrast from north to south that is particularly easy to see in the extreme color-enhanced Cassini spacecraft view presented here.

A clear filter image is also presented (left) alongside the color composite (right).

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 superimposed 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 the surface of Rhea. 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.

This view looks toward the trailing hemisphere on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across). The view shows southerly latitudes on Rhea, down to the south pole. North is up and rotated 17 degrees to the right.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 17, 2007 at a distance of approximately 457,000 kilometers (284,000 miles) from Rhea. 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

Three Little Moons
February 27, 2007

Three of the small worlds that hug the outer edges of Saturn's immense ring system are captured in this Cassini spacecraft portrait.

The two F ring shepherd moons, Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) and Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) are seen flanking the ring at bottom. Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) is visible near the top of the scene.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 18, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale on the sky at the distance of Saturn is 61 kilometers (38 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

Odysseus Out of Shadow
February 28, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft stares directly into the great Odysseus impact basin on Tethys. Peaks near the crater's center cast long shadows toward the east. The elevated eastern rim of the crater catches sunlight, despite being well beyond the terminator.

See The Great Basin for a highly detailed view of Odysseus.

Lit terrain seen here is on the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) -- the side that always faces away from Saturn. North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 19, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Tethys. Image scale is 7 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

The Lore of Saturn
March 1, 2007

The great planet Saturn reveals mysteries more profound, and stories more grand, than those occasioned by its ancient mythological namesake.

The giant planet is a moody world whose disposition appears to change with the view. Its atmosphere rages with thunderous and hurricane-like storms. Its majestic rings spin a tale of ancient collisions and cataclysm. And its moons may hold secrets to the origins of life.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 28 degrees below the ring plane.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The view was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 30, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 60 kilometers (38 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

Toward the Shadow
March 1, 2007

This strikingly crisp view shows Atlas heading into Saturn's shadow at upper left. The moon's basic, elongated shape is easy to detect here.

(See Watching Atlas's Waistline for a different perspective on Atlas.)

Above Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) in the image, a bright clump in the F ring also heads toward the darkness.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 30 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 19, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Atlas. Image scale is 7 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

Magnificent Vista
March 1, 2007

Cassini coasts beneath giant Saturn, staring upward at its gleaming crescent and icy rings.

A great bull's-eye pattern is centered on the south pole, where a vast, hurricane-like storm spins.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 26 degrees below the ring plane. The view was acquired about two hours prior to The Lore of Saturn.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 30, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 61 kilometers (38 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

Symmetry in Shadow
March 1, 2007

Magnificent blue and gold Saturn floats obliquely as one of its gravity-bound companions, Dione, hangs in the distance. The darkened rings seem to nearly touch their shadowy reverse images on the planet below.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 9 degrees above the ring plane. The rings glow feebly in the scattered light that filters through them.

Dione is 1,126 kilometers (700 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 75 kilometers (47 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

Pastel Planet
March 1, 2007

With pastel blues, pinks, greens and golds, Saturn displays a dazzling diversity of colors and hues.

Here, Cassini looks upward at, and through, the sunlit side of the rings from about 19 degrees below the ring plane. The small moon Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) can be spotted off the planet's western limb (edge) near the image bottom.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 3, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 60 kilometers (38 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

Tourniquet Shadows
March 1, 2007

Dark and sharply defined ring shadows appear to constrict the flow of color from Saturn's warmly hued south to the bluish northern latitudes.

Scientists studying Saturn are not yet sure about the precise cause of the color change from north to south. NASA Voyager spacecraft flybys witnessed a more evenly painted planet in the early 1980s, when Saturn was closer to equinox. However, the bluish color was readily apparent upon Cassini's approach to the planet in late 2003, when Saturn was just coming out of its northern hemisphere winter. Scientists have speculated that the color is due to seasonal effects on the atmosphere.

Aside from the color differences, the cloud morphology is quite different in the polar regions compared to the mid-latitudes. Bright, isolated clouds dot the high latitudes, while Saturn's middle is characterized by flowing cloud bands and the occasional bright or dark vortex.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about half a degree below the ring plane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 67 kilometers (42 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

Ring World
March 1, 2007

Our robotic emissary, flying high above Saturn, captured this view of an alien copper-colored ring world. The overexposed planet has deliberately been removed to show the unlit rings alone, seen from an elevation of 60 degrees, the highest Cassini has yet attained.

The view is a mosaic of 27 images -- nine separate sets of red, green and blue images -- taken over the course of about 45 minutes, as Cassini scanned across the entire main ring system. The planet's shadow carves a dark swath across the ring plane at the right. The overexposed planet has been removed.

Moons visible in this image: Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) at the 1 o'clock position, Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) at the 5 o'clock position, Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) at the 10 o'clock position.

Bright clumps of material in the narrow F ring moved in their orbits between each of the color exposures, creating a chromatic misalignment that provides some sense of the continuous motion in the ring system.

Radially extending lens flare artifacts, which result from light being scattered within the camera optics, are present in the view.

The images in this natural-color view were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 21, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 90 kilometers (56 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

Blinding Saturn
March 1, 2007

Surely one of the most gorgeous sights the solar system has to offer, Saturn sits enveloped by the full splendor of its stately rings.

Taking in the rings in their entirety was the focus of this particular imaging sequence. Therefore, the camera exposure times were just right to capture the dark-side of its rings, but longer than that required to properly expose the globe of sunlit Saturn. Consequently, the sunlit half of the planet is overexposed.

Between the blinding light of day and the dark of night, there is a strip of twilight on the globe where colorful details in the atmosphere can be seen. Bright clouds dot the bluish-grey northern polar region here. In the south, the planet's night side glows golden in reflected light from the rings' sunlit face.

Saturn's shadow stretches completely across the rings in this view, taken on Jan. 19, 2007, in contrast to what Cassini saw when it arrived in 2004 (see Frigid Ringworld).

The view is a mosaic of 36 images -- that is, 12 separate sets of red, green and blue images -- taken over the course of about 2.5 hours, as Cassini scanned across the entire main ring system.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 40 degrees above the ring plane.

The images in this natural-color view were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 1.23 million kilometers (764,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 70 kilometers (44 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

This life-like movie sequence captures Saturn's rings during a ring plane crossing--which Cassini makes twice per orbit--from the spacecraft's point of view. The movie begins with a view of the sunlit side of the rings. As the spacecraft speeds from south to north, the rings appear to tilt downward and collapse to a thin plane, and then open again to reveal the un-illuminated side of the ring plane, where sunlight filters through only dimly.

The striking contrast between the sunlit and unlit sides of the ring plane can now be fully appreciated, thanks to the sense of continuity in time and space provided by this brief clip.

The movie consists of 34 images taken over the course of 12 hours as Cassini pierced the ring plane. Additional frames were inserted between the original images in order to smooth the motion in the sequence -- a scheme called interpolation.

Six moons careen through the field of view during the sequence. The first large one is Enceladus, whose slanted motion from the upper left to center right nicely illustrates the inclination of its orbit with respect to the rings. The second large one, seen in the second half of the movie, is Mimas, going from right to left.

This movie begins with a view looking toward the lit side of the rings from about 9 degrees below the ring plane. It ends when the spacecraft is 8 degrees above the ring plane.

The clear-filter images in this movie sequence were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 17, 2007, at a distance of approximately 900,000 kilometers (500,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 48 kilometers (30 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

The Quiet Side
March 2, 2007

Dione's leading hemisphere appears relatively smooth and placid here, compared to the fractured landscape on its trailing hemisphere.

See Incredible Cliffs for a view of the trailing hemisphere.

Lit terrain seen here is on the leading hemisphere of Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 19, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Dione. Image scale is 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

Pan's Highway
March 5, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft spies Pan speeding through the Encke Gap, its own private path around Saturn. Illumination is from the lower left here, revealing about half of Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) in sunlight.

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 Jan. 19, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Pan. 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

Cosmic Contrast
March 6, 2007

Bright equatorial clouds give way to darker southern bands in this infrared Cassini spacecraft view taken with a filter sensitive to methane absorption in Saturn's atmosphere.

Delicate shadows cast onto the planet by its inner rings are visible at upper right. A portion of the same inner rings are seen at lower right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light. The view was acquired on Jan. 14, 2007 at a distance of approximately 976,000 kilometers (606,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 55 kilometers (34 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

Bent Spoke
March 7, 2007

A bright spoke extends across the unilluminated side of Saturn's B ring about the same distance as that from London to Cairo. The background ring material displays some azimuthal (i.e., left to right) asymmetry.

The radial (outward from Saturn) direction is up in this view. A noticeable kink in the spoke occurs very close to the radius where ring particles orbit the planet at the speed of Saturn's magnetic field. Such a connection is most intriguing to scientists studying these ghostly ring phenomena.

If gravity alone were affecting the spoke material, there would be no kink and the entire spoke would be angled toward right, like the bottom portion. That it bends to the left above the kink indicates that some other force, possibly related to the magnetic field, is acting on the spoke material. The shape might also indicate that the spoke did not form in a radial orientation, thus challenging scientists' assumptions about these features.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 58 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 23, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn. 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

Seeing the Storm
March 8, 2007

This beautiful look at Saturn's south polar atmosphere shows the hurricane-like polar storm swirling there. Sunlight highlights its high cloud walls, especially around the 10 o'clock position.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. The image was taken on Jan. 30, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 61 kilometers (38 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

The Center of Things
March 12, 2007

This dramatic close-up of Saturn's south pole shows the hurricane-like vortex that resides there. The entire polar region is dotted with bright clouds, including one that appears to be inside the central ring of the polar storm.

The storm was captured in a movie made from Cassini images in November 2006 (see Looking Saturn in the Eye).

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light. The view was acquired on Jan. 14, 2007 at a distance of approximately 963,000 kilometers (598,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 54 kilometers (34 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

Dionean Linea
March 13, 2007

Bright icy fractures, or linea, cover the trailing hemisphere of Saturn's moon, Dione.

The Cassini spacecraft imaged the fractured terrain at high resolution in October 2005 (See At Carthage Linea).

Lit terrain seen here is on the trailing hemisphere of Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 930 nanometers. The image was taken on Feb. 3, 2007 at a distance of approximately 927,000 kilometers (576,000 miles) from Dione. 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

Rivers of Cloud
March 14, 2007

Rippling with detail, the southern hemisphere of Saturn comes to life in this view from the Cassini spacecraft. Long, flowing streamers and bands of great contrast soften toward the pole, where a great hurricane-like storm resides.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The image was taken on Feb. 1, 2007 at a distance of approximately 945,000 kilometers (587,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 53 kilometers (33 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

Helene and Mimas
March 15, 2007

Two moons of Saturn rendezvous in the Saturnian skies above the Cassini spacecraft.

Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is seen here just before gliding in front of Helene (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across), which lays 192,000 kilometers (119,000 miles) in the distance beyond the larger moon.

The limb of Mimas is flattened in the west, where the rim if the large crater Herschel lies.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 3 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 3, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Mimas and 1.5 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Helene. Image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel on Mimas and 9 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel on Helene.

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

South on Saturn
March 16, 2007

From beneath the ringplane, the Cassini spacecraft takes stock of Saturn's southern skies and peeks through the rings and beyond their shadows