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Full Version: Cassini - Images of Saturn & Its Moons

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Waspie_Dwarf

Mar 26 2007, 01:39 PM

Unusual Hyperion
March 26, 2007

Chaotically tumbling and seriously eroded by impacts, Hyperion is one of Saturn's more unusual satellites. Scientists believe the moon to be quite porous, with a great deal of its volume being empty space.

Impact blasted Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across. Only part of the moon is visible in this image, the rest being hidden in shadow.

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 view was acquired on Feb. 15, 2007 at a distance of approximately 224,000 kilometers (139,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 1 kilometer (4,404 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

Mar 28 2007, 01:54 AM

Orb of Ice
March 27, 2007

A serene orb of ice is set against the gentle pastel clouds of giant Saturn. Rhea transits the face of the gas giant, whose darkened rings and their planet-hugging shadows appear near upper right.

Rhea is the second largest of Saturn's moons at 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across. This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 3 degrees above the ring plane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The view was acquired with the wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2007. Cassini acquired the view at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn and 679,000 kilometers (422,000 miles) from Rhea. Image scale is 68 kilometers (42 miles) per pixel on Saturn and about 40 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel on Rhea.

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

Mar 28 2007, 01:56 AM

Shadowcaster
March 27, 2007

Cassini takes in a sweeping view of Saturn's south polar region as the planet's shadow masks the rings and bright, icy Mimas looks on from left. This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 28 degrees below the ring plane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this color view. The view was acquired with the wide-angle camera on Feb. 20, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Mar 28 2007, 01:58 AM

Budding F Ring
March 27, 2007

The brilliant core of the F ring displays a breakaway clump of material, possibly related to the other objects the Cassini spacecraft has witnessed in the dynamic ring in the past few years of observations.

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 Feb. 10, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 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

Waspie_Dwarf

Mar 28 2007, 01:45 PM

Moon at Work
March 28, 2007

Prometheus draws material from the F ring along an invisible thread of gravity. Near lower left is an identical feature the moon created on a previous pass near the ring.

Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is overexposed in this image, which was taken as part of a sequence designed to help refine scientists' understanding of the orbits of Saturn's small moons.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 41 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 14, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Prometheus. 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

Mar 29 2007, 04:07 PM

Atlas and the F Ring
March 29, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft gazes toward the multiple strands of the ever-changing F ring, also sighting Atlas at its station just beyond the A ring edge.

A few faint background stars are visible in the image. Atlas, which appears left of center, is 32 kilometers (20 miles across).

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 Feb. 10, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Atlas and at a Sun-Atlas-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 128 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

Apr 2 2007, 01:21 PM

Unfocused F Ring
April 2, 2007

The F ring dissolves into a fuzzy stream of particles -- rather different from its usual appearance of a narrow, bright core flanked by dimmer ringlets. Also notable here is the bright clump of material that flanks the ring's core.

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 Feb. 10, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 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

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 3 2007, 03:28 PM

Rhea's Scars
April 3, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft examines the desolate, cratered crescent of Rhea, a surface so heavily bombarded over the eons that new craters are virtually guaranteed to form on top of older ones. The large Tirawa impact basin is visible here.

This view looks toward the leading hemisphere on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 26, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 106 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

Apr 4 2007, 01:09 PM

Streamer Genesis
April 4, 2007

Prometheus draws a fresh streamer of material from the F ring as it passes the ring's interior edge. The streamer will continuously shear out as it orbits the planet, becoming more elongated and increasingly aligned with the F ring with time.

A single large crater is the principle feature visible on Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) in this view. The moon is lit partly by bright sunlight and partly by reflected light from Saturn.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 57 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 11, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 130 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

Apr 5 2007, 04:16 PM

Classic Appeal
April 5, 2007

Like black and white photos of earthly family and friends, monochrome images of Saturn can also capture their subject with crisp poignancy. This infrared view from high above Saturn's ringplane highlights the contrast in the cloud bands, the dimly glowing rings and their shadows on the gas giant planet. The overall effect is stirring.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 48 degrees above the ringplane.

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 obtained on Feb. 12, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 144 degrees. Image scale is 191 kilometers (119 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

Apr 6 2007, 02:58 PM

Ring Waves
April 6, 2007

This Cassini spacecraft view shows details of Saturn's outer A ring, including the Encke and Keeler gaps. The A ring brightens substantially outside the Keeler Gap.

On both sides of the broad Encke gap are bright spiral density waves. See Spiral Density Waves for comparison.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 52 degrees below 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 930 nanometers. The view was acquired on Feb. 19, 2007 at a distance of approximately 950,000 kilometers (590,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Apr 9 2007, 03:14 PM

Odysseus Into the Dark
April 9, 2007

Odysseus impact basin lies between night and day on Tethys.

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

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 26, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 96 degrees. Image scale is 9 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

Apr 10 2007, 02:15 PM

The Perturber
April 10, 2007

The oblong form of Prometheus glides by, trailing behind it wiggles in Saturn's ribbon-like F ring.

Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) causes a great deal of perturbation to the F ring, including kinks, knots and gores in the shape of the ring structure. By studying the moon and its interactions with the F ring scientists are learning a great deal about how ring structures form and evolve.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 27 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 24, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Prometheus. Image scale is 9 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

Apr 12 2007, 01:15 PM

Shifting Strands
April 12, 2007

The shepherd moon Prometheus is lit partly by reflected light from Saturn as it lurks near the heavily perturbed F ring.

The left side of Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is overexposed by the blinding Sun, but hints of craters can be seen on the Saturn-lit side. This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 16, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Prometheus. 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

Apr 13 2007, 02:58 PM

Crossing Saturn
April 13, 2007

Rhea brushes the stormy face of Saturn, an airless ice orb against the feathery bands of a gas giant.

Saturn's unilluminated rings are seen at upper right. Rhea is the second largest of Saturn's moons at 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 3 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in wavelengths of polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2007. Cassini acquired the view at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn and 679,000 kilometers (422,000 miles) from Rhea. Image scale is 137 kilometers (85 miles) per pixel on Saturn and about 80 kilometers (50 miles) per pixel on Rhea.

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

Apr 16 2007, 01:18 PM

Moons in the Night
April 16, 2007
Sunlight makes visible the faint band called the E ring as two moons meet in the sky.

Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) and Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) appear close together in the sky in this image, but in reality, Tethys was more than 260,000 kilometers (162,000 miles) farther from the Cassini spacecraft -- greater than the distance from Earth to the Moon. Enceladus is easy to identify by the brilliant plume of ice erupting from its south pole.

Although this perspective views the night sides of both moons, the Sun is not the only source of illumination in the Saturn system. Tethys is at a fuller phase with respect to Saturn, and thus its "night side" is more fully lit than that of Enceladus.

The view was acquired from a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163 degrees, a viewing geometry in which the microscopic ice particles in its plume brighten substantially.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 6, 2006 at a distance of approximately 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Enceladus and 4.2 million kilometers (2.6 million miles) from Tethys. Image scale is 23 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel on Enceladus and 25 kilometers (16 miles) on Tethys.

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

Apr 17 2007, 03:11 PM

Taking the Plunge
April 17, 2007
Sunlight makes visible the faint band called the E ring as two moons meet in the sky.

Pan prepares to be engulfed by the darkness of Saturn's shadow, visible here as it stretches across the rings.

When the Cassini spacecraft took a follow-up image of this same location about 50 seconds later, Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) had vanished into darkness.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 44 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 14, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Pan. 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

Apr 19 2007, 06:24 PM

Ahead of the Pack
April 19, 2007

Prometheus speeds ahead of two dark gores in the F ring's inner edge. The ring's bright core swerves and twirls in its wake.

Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is partly lit, at right, by reflected light from Saturn.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 54 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 17, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 107 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

Apr 20 2007, 01:04 PM

Looking Up
April 20, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft gazes upward at the face of giant Saturn, seeing beyond the equator to where ring shadows fall across the bluish northern latitudes.

This extreme southern view looks northward from about 58 degrees below the ringplane.

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. 1, 2007 at a distance of approximately 940,000 kilometers (584,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Barek Halfhand

Apr 20 2007, 02:29 PM

QUOTE(Waspie_Dwarf @ Apr 20 2007, 08:04 AM) [snapback]1638512[/snapback]

[font=Times New Roman]Looking Up
April 20, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft gazes upward at the face of giant Saturn, seeing beyond the equator to where ring shadows fall across the bluish northern latitudes.

This extreme southern view looks northward from about 58 degrees below the ringplane.

So from this angle are we seeing the fringe of the outer rings at the top (north) part of the picture ?........B

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 23 2007, 01:09 PM

QUOTE(Barek Halfhand @ Apr 20 2007, 03:29 PM) [snapback]1638620[/snapback]

So from this angle are we seeing the fringe of the outer rings at the top (north) part of the picture ?........B

No, the outer rings will be well beyond this image. In fact I don't think we can see the rings at all in this image, the rings do not extend all the way down to Saturn's atmosphere. What looks like the ring edge is the shadow of the rings on the planet.

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 23 2007, 01:11 PM

Moon's Signature
April 23, 2007

The presence of the tiny ring moon Daphnis is betrayed by the edge waves it creates in the Keeler gap.

The gap is a narrow lane, about 42 kilometers (26 miles) wide, in Saturn's outer A ring. Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across) was discovered in Cassini spacecraft images at the same time that scientists spotted the edge waves. Researchers had suspected the presence of a moon in this gap after Pan was discovered in Voyager spacecraft images taken 25 years earlier.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 54 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 17, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 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

Barek Halfhand

Apr 23 2007, 04:31 PM

QUOTE(Waspie_Dwarf @ Apr 23 2007, 08:11 AM) [snapback]1642275[/snapback]

The presence of the tiny ring moon Daphnis is betrayed by the edge waves it creates in the Keeler gap.

its unclear if this distortion in the ring gap confirms or further confuses the existance of daphnis?........B

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 23 2007, 05:28 PM

QUOTE(Barek Halfhand @ Apr 23 2007, 05:31 PM) [snapback]1642554[/snapback]

its unclear if this distortion in the ring gap confirms or further confuses the existance of daphnis?........B

Unclear to who? Re-read the article, Daphnis has actually been imaged by Cassini:

QUOTE(Waspie_Dwarf @ Apr 23 2007, 02:11 PM) [snapback]1642275[/snapback]

Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across) was discovered in Cassini spacecraft images at the same time that scientists spotted the edge waves.

See this post for a more close up image of the Keeler Gap and the waves that actually shows Daphnis.

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 25 2007, 01:20 PM

The Gap Moons
April 25, 2007

Saturn's ring-embedded moons, Pan and Daphnis, are captured in a single Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle frame in an alignment they repeat with the regularity of a precise cosmic clock. Pan is closer to Saturn, and thus orbits faster, and Pan overtakes Daphnis every 19 days.

The flying-saucer-like shape of Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) can easily be discerned here. Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across) is a mere speck, although its presence is made obvious by the edge waves it creates in the surrounding ring material.

Pan also raises waves in the edges of the Encke Gap (see The Encke Gap as Never Seen Before). However, even though Pan is more massive than Daphnis, Pan is farther from the edges of its gap than the smaller moon. This causes Pan's edge waves to have a much longer wavelength (they are more stretched out) and a smaller amplitude (they do not extend as far inward from the gap edge) as those created by Daphnis, making them more difficult to see.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 24 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 24, 2007 at a distance of approximately 889,000 kilometers (553,000 miles) from Daphnis and at a Sun-Daphnis-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 21 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

Barek Halfhand

Apr 26 2007, 12:21 AM

QUOTE(Waspie_Dwarf @ Apr 23 2007, 12:28 PM) [snapback]1642658[/snapback]

Unclear to who? Re-read the article, Daphnis has actually been imaged by Cassini:
See this post for a more close up image of the Keeler Gap and the waves that actually shows Daphnis.

guilty of skimming

... Hey with over 60 moons orbiting saturn, and the way they like to reclassify planitary bodies, who knows?....B

Waspie_Dwarf

Apr 26 2007, 01:12 PM

Dione's Decorations
April 26, 2007

Grooves and deep craters adorn terrain at high southern latitudes on Dione. The Cassini spacecraft revealed the fractured landscape of this moon's icy crescent in unparalleled detail in 2005 (see Icy Crescent).

This view looks down toward terrain centered at 65 degrees south latitude on Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across).

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 23, 2007 at a distance of approximately 571,000 kilometers (355,000 miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 92 degrees. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 24, 2007 at a distance of approximately 889,000 kilometers (553,000 miles) from Daphnis and at a Sun-Daphnis-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 21 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

Apr 30 2007, 01:58 PM

Suncatcher
April 30, 2007

The rings of Saturn glow softly as sunlight from below wends its way through. Some of the Sun's light bounces off the rings' opposite side and can be seen illuminating Saturn's night side southern hemisphere.

Such a view is only possible from the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 33 degrees above the ringplane. Shadows of the innermost rings are cast upon the planet at upper left. The edge of Saturn's shadow cuts a straight line across the rings near upper right.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 30, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 117 kilometers (73 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

May 2 2007, 02:09 PM

In Saturn's Grasp
May 2, 2007

Held in gravity's embrace, Saturn's darkened, icy rings encircle the clouded gas giant.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 29 degrees above the ringplane. The rings are made visible on this side (their "dark" side) by sunlight that scatters though them and by occulting the planet and background stars.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 29, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 113 kilometers (70 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

May 3 2007, 01:40 PM

My Blue Heaven
May 3, 2007

In Saturn's bluish north, day ends for the dreamy white clouds that stretch here into twilight.

This natural color scene shows middle latitudes in Saturn's north at excellent resolution, and with little detectable blur due to spacecraft motion.

North on Saturn is up and rotated 22 degrees to the right.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this color view. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 1, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 86 degrees. Image scale is about 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

May 4 2007, 01:04 PM

An Icy Composition
May 4, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft looks across Saturn's cloud-dotted north and shadowed pole, and out across the lanes of ice that compose its rings.

Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is visible between the A and F rings near the center of the image.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 42 degrees above the ringplane. The planet's shadow stretches toward the lower right corner.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 1, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 119 kilometers (74 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

May 7 2007, 11:09 PM

Clouds Like Sandstone
May 7, 2007

Whorls, streamers and eddies play in the banded atmosphere of a gas giant. Strong image enhancement renders unto Saturn's clouds a grainy texture not unlike sandstone. However, the loss in delicate smoothness is compensated for by an increase in discernible detail.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 (green channel), 752 (red channel), and 890 (blue channel) nanometers. The semi-transparent red features across the image are clouds detected by the 752 nanometer filter.

The view was acquired on Aug. 19, 2005 at a distance of approximately 492,000 kilometers (306,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 26 kilometers (16 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

May 8 2007, 01:41 PM

Writhing Windforms
May 8, 2007

Contorted clouds wriggle across high northern latitudes in this exquisitely detailed close-up of Saturn's atmosphere. Two immense storms swirl at right, each easily 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) across.

The wispy, swirling nature of the bright clouds is reminiscent of cloud material being dumped into the cloud-level atmosphere by convective updrafts that come up from below, with the local shear and turbulence then creating the patterns seen, like a dye marker injected into a flowing stream.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 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

Waspie_Dwarf

May 8 2007, 01:43 PM

At a Tilt
May 8, 2007

Colorful Saturn tilts its darkened ringplane toward Cassini. Against the dark sky, the rings are made visible by the light that scatters through them toward the camera.

The F ring shepherd moon Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) is faintly visible at the top, left of center. Pandora's brightness was increased by a factor of three to aid its visibility.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 18 degrees above the ringplane. The planet is visible through the innermost and outermost portions of the rings.

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 April 13, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 108 kilometers (67 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

May 9 2007, 01:16 PM

Dusky Saturn
May 9, 2007

Brooding Saturn seems to be missing its rings, but their shadows on the planet betray their presence. The inner rings are in fact contained within this scene, but they are so tenuous as to be nearly invisible.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane. Some motion is apparent in Saturn's clouds between the exposures used to create this color composite, as evidenced by the 'rainbow' effect seen here and there across the face of the planet.

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 April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 84 kilometers (52 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

May 10 2007, 01:14 PM

Diagonal Division
May 10, 2007

Fine, sharp-edged details and smooth gradients in the ring features of the Cassini Division are imaged here together at excellent resolution.

The faint ringlet in the dark gap left of center is a recently discovered feature, found in Cassini images (see A Faint Ring Shines).

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 21 degrees below the ringplane. The scene takes in the entire Cassini Division (4,800 kilometers, or 2,980 miles wide), as well as the innermost region of the A ring at extreme left.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 8, 2007 at a distance of approximately 476,000 kilometers (296,000 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

Barek Halfhand

May 10 2007, 05:29 PM

has anyone else noticed these new(Cassini) images of the rings resemble the markings on a record (LP)......B

Waspie_Dwarf

May 10 2007, 05:34 PM

QUOTE(Barek Halfhand @ May 10 2007, 06:29 PM) [snapback]1668797[/snapback]

has anyone else noticed these new(Cassini) images of the rings resemble the markings on a record (LP)......B

I remember that comparison being made when Voyager 1 first showed how detailed the rings were. That was back in 1980. Before then no one had any idea that the rings were made up of thousands of individual ringlets.

Waspie_Dwarf

May 11 2007, 01:19 PM

Dione's Southern Face
May 11, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft takes in the crater-strewn surface near Dione's south pole in this natural color view. Long fractures slice across the surface here, as on other parts of the moon. Previous Cassini imaging investigations have shown that the canyons seen here do not appear to have the bright, presumably youthful, walls seen in fractures nearer the equator (see PIA07581).

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

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 8, 2007 at a distance of approximately 268,000 kilometers (166,000 miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 92 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (5,249 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

May 14 2007, 02:17 PM

Candy Stripes
May 14, 2007

This strongly enhanced false color view is a departure from the familiar bluish north and golden south seen in natural color Cassini spacecraft images, but the contrast between regions north and south of the ring shadows is here more readily apparent.

The northern region is marked by a multitude of bright, patchy clouds. The region south of the ring shadows contains the bright equatorial band seen in many monochrome Cassini views taken at infrared wavelengths (see Three Views of Saturn).

Taken just minutes after Dusky Saturn, this view makes Saturn's rings faintly visible at lower left. The false color enhancement brings out additional detail in the planet's clouds that is not visible in the natural color view. This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 (red channel), 752 (blue channel) and 890 (green channel) nanometers. The view was acquired on April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 84 kilometers (52 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

May 15 2007, 01:48 PM

Pitted Hyperion
May 15, 2007

Giant pits cover the impact-eroded face of Hyperion, giving it a spongy appearance. The chaotically tumbling moon is extremely porous, like the moons orbiting in and near Saturn's rings.

Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 12, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 46 degrees. Scale in the original image was 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel. The image was contrast enhanced and 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

May 16 2007, 01:22 PM

Ring Moon Rendezvous
May 16, 2007

Across the expanse of Saturn's rings, the Cassini spacecraft spies two small moons in consort.

Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) is seen exterior to the bright outer edge of the A ring. Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across), below Atlas in this view, orbits Saturn within the narrow Keeler Gap. The presence of Daphnis is revealed by the waves it raises in the ring material surrounding it on the edges of the gap. Daphnis and its waves moved between exposures taken to create this color view, resulting in their slight displacement in each color.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 18 degrees above the ringplane. Bright clumps are visible in the narrow F ring.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 13, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Atlas. 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

May 17 2007, 02:16 PM

Blue Expanse
May 17, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft surveys Saturn's outstretched ring system in the infrared from a vantage point high above the planet's northern latitudes. Nearly the full expanse of the main rings is visible here -- from the C ring to the outer edge of the A ring (in the upper left corner).

Ring shadows are visible on the planet at lower left, and two large storms swirl near center.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 (red channel), 890 (blue channel) and 728 (green channel) nanometers. The view was acquired on April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 81 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

May 21 2007, 01:05 PM

Prometheus Makes Contact
May 21, 2007

The F ring shepherd moon Prometheus touches the face of Saturn once more before moving off into blackness and continuing in its orbit.

The F ring itself is visible as a thin line just below Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across). This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 18 degrees above the ringplane. North on Saturn is up and rotated about 30 degrees to the right.

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 April 13, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Prometheus and 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 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

Waspie_Dwarf

May 23 2007, 01:42 PM

Emergent Moons
May 23, 2007

Atlas and Pan emerge from the far side of Saturn. Light passing through the upper reaches of the planet''s atmosphere is refracted, or bent, distorting the image of the rings beyond.

Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) is seen within the Encke Gap. Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) orbits just beyond the outer edge of Saturn''s A ring.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 12 degrees above the ringplane. Shadows cast by the rings arc across the planet toward the Cassini spacecraft.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 12, 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

Waspie_Dwarf

May 24 2007, 05:08 PM

Hit and Run
May 24, 2007

Prometheus pulls away from an encounter with Saturn's F ring, leaving behind a reminder of its passage.

Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) approaches closely to the F ring once during each circuit around Saturn, disturbing the orbits of the small particles in the ring and creating a streamer of material that then shears out, following the moon as it speeds off.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 37 degrees above the ringplane. Prometheus is brightly lit by the Sun on one side and lit more modestly by Saturn's reflected light on the other side.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 18, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 87 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

May 25 2007, 01:21 PM

Tricks of Light
May 25, 2007
Saturn and its rings manifest a rich interplay between shadow and light.

The rings shine on their unilluminated side by virtue of scattered sunlight emerging from its passage through the ringplane. The dense B ring does not allow much light to pass through, while the C ring is so sheer as to allow the planet to be visible on its other side.

On the planet, shadows cast by the rings arc across the northern hemisphere. Saturn''s night side is illuminated in the south by light reflected from the rings'' sunlit face. The night-side northern hemisphere is also lit faintly by the face of the rings that is seen in this image. The planet''s shadow extends across the ringplane toward right.

Several of Saturn''s inner moons are visible in this view (from top to bottom): Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across), Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across), and Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across).

This view looks toward the rings from about 19 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 13, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 107 kilometers (67 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

May 28 2007, 10:29 AM

Banded Beauty
May 28, 2007

Storms and cloud bands emerge from beneath Saturn's obscuring hazes in this infrared view.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 20 degrees below the ringplane. The inner rings partly obscure the planet at top.

This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 728 (green channel), 752 (red channel) and 890 (blue channel) nanometers. The view was acquired on July 12, 2005 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 170 kilometers (105 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

May 30 2007, 10:08 PM

Janus Floats On
May 30, 2007

Janus floats above the meandering clouds of Saturn. A few of the large craters on the moon are just visible.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 18 degrees above the ringplane. Saturn's narrow F ring and outer A ring are pictured in the upper right.

Janus is 181 kilometers (113 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 13, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Janus. 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

May 31 2007, 12:52 PM

Saturn Enhanced
May 31, 2007

Stunning details in Saturn's clouds suggest movement within bands of atmosphere. This false color enhancement makes visible an exciting level of detail in the bright and dark bands that is more easily seen at Jupiter than at Saturn.

See Jupiter Clouds, True Color and False to Show Heights for natural and false color Cassini views of Jupiter.

Saturn's southern hemisphere seems to fade into the blackness of space in this view.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 (red channel), 890 (blue channel) and 728 (green channel) nanometers. The view was acquired on Feb. 2, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 57 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

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