Darkside Lights
August 27, 2007

Two small portions of Saturn's F ring shine brilliantly in scattered sunlight as Rhea floats in the distance beyond.

Rhea is 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 20, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 915,000 kilometers (569,000 miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 151 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

Helene of Troy
August 28, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft reveals details on the surface of small, irregularly shaped Helene in this close-up view, obtained during the spacecraft's closest encounter with this moon during its four-year primary mission.

Helene (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) is a Trojan moon, sharing Dione's orbit but staying 60 degrees or 400,000 kilometers (250,000 miles) ahead of the much larger moon.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 20, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 39,000 kilometers (24,000 miles) from Helene and at a Sun-Helene-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 61 degrees. Image scale is 231 meters (758 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

Trio Near the rings
August 29, 2007

Three of Saturn's diverse family of moons are captured in this view.

Smoggy Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) hovers above the thin line of the rings. Much smaller Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) is a mere speck at far left. Bright Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) sits directly in front of the ringplane from the Cassini spacecraft's vantage point.

Saturn's rings cast dark shadows onto its northern hemisphere. As the planet approaches equinox in 2009, the shadows will get closer and closer to the equator and shrink in extent, eventually to emerge in the Southern Hemisphere.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 23, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (889,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 82 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

Magnificent Scars
August 30, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft provides a stunning view of the Odysseus impact basin on Tethys. The enormous basin is 450 kilometers (280 miles) wide.

The medium-sized crater Melanthius is seen along the terminator at lower left.

This view looks toward the leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 21, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 211,000 kilometers (131,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 46 degrees. Image scale is 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Mimas in Transit
August 31, 2007

A lone moon hurtles past as the Cassini spacecraft stares into the clouds of Saturn.

Cassini monitored clouds near Saturn's equator for nearly 20 hours during an important series of observations designed to allow scientists to measure wind speeds and better understand convection in the giant planet's atmosphere.

Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) happened to wander across the field of view during these observations.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 28, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 36 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Craters in Relief
September 3, 2007

Large and medium-sized impact basins on Rhea's trailing hemisphere are thrown into sharp relief by the grazing rays of the Sun. Bright, wispy features reach across the surface from the east.

This view shows roughly the same region as the color view Rhea in Natural Color.

North on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) is up and rotated 12 degrees to the left.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 21, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 783,000 kilometers (487,000 miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 76 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

Children of Saturn
September 4, 2007

Two moons on opposite sides of the rings slide past each other in this stately portrait of Saturn.

Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across), on the far side of Saturn, appears above the rings. Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) poses directly in front of the ringplane.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane. The silhouette of the rings overlay the subtle texture of Saturn's atmosphere.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 29, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 3.2 million kilometers (2 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 32 degrees. Image scale is 188 kilometers (117 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

Inclined Dione
September 5, 2007

Dione looms large before the rings of Saturn.

Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) can be spotted to the lower left of the larger moon, peeking out from behind the rings.

This view looks toward the leading hemisphere of Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across). North is up and rotated 25 degrees to the right. The view is toward the sunlit side of the rings from less than a degree below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 22, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 695,000 kilometers (432,000 miles) from Dione. Image scale is 4 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

In the Boundary
September 6, 2007

A chevron-shaped pattern and bright vortices stand out in the turbulent Saturnian atmosphere. Such features are hallmarks of the boundary between alternating east-west flowing cloud bands.

The view looks toward an area about 9 degrees south of the planet's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 28, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million 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

History on Tethys
September 7, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft spies four large impact basins on the southern hemisphere of icy Tethys.

Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across), like the other airless worlds of the Solar System, wears the record of countless impacts experienced over the eons.

Lit terrain seen here is on the leading hemisphere of Tethys. North is up and rotated 15 degrees to the left.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 21, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 452,000 kilometers (281,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 54 degrees. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Moonwatching
September 10, 2007

Two of Saturn's moons make appearances in this view in very different ways.

Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) glides past at bottom, near the edge-on ringplane. Above are the arcing shadows cast onto the northern hemisphere by the rings, along with the shadow of Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) against a backdrop of wispy clouds. Mimas' shadow appears elliptical due to its projection onto the spheroidal shape of Saturn's visible atmosphere.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 5, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 47 kilometers (29 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 Defining Feature
September 11, 2007
Bright, wispy markings cover the trailing hemisphere of Rhea. The features are thought to be similar in nature to the bright, icy canyons seen on Dione (see Dione's Surprise).

North on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, 949 miles across) is up and rotated 17 degrees to the left.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 22, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 42 degrees. 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

Window Into Worlds
September 12, 2007

This stirring scene captures some of the grandeur of the Saturn system while also allowing a simultaneous glimpse beneath the hazes that cover both Saturn and Titan.

The infrared view reveals bright, swirling clouds and zonal cloud bands in the giant planet's atmosphere, as well as a hint of the dark, equatorial terrain on Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across).

Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) is visible near right, on the far side of the ringplane.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 1, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 3.6 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 214 kilometers (133 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

Crossing Dione
September 13, 2007

Saturn's nearly edge-on rings are caught between two moons.

The edge of the F ring has a blurred appearance with bright Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) as a backdrop. Oblong Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) transits Dione and heads off toward right.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 24, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Dione at an image scale of about 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Chiseled Away
September 14, 2007
Giant craters like the one seen in this view deform the shape of Hyperion, making it the largest irregularly shaped body in the Solar System.

The moon has such a low density -- about half that of water -- and such low gravity that impactors tend to compress its surface, rather than excavating it, and most material that is blown outward never comes back. Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 23, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 318,000 kilometers (198,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Great pics - thanks for the post! Always interesting here.

Enceladus and Dione
September 17, 2007

Two icy moons meet on the sky in a "mutual event" recorded by the Cassini spacecraft.

The great brightness of Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) is rather obvious in comparison to Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) behind it. Enceladus is the most reflective object in the Solar System, and is nearly pure white. Dione, in comparison, reflects about 70 percent of the light falling upon it.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 24, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Enceladus and 2.2 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Dione. Image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel on Enceladus and 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel on Dione.

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

Tethys Walks the Line
September 18, 2007

The moon Tethys cruises past, in front of Saturn's edge-on rings. The rings cast threadlike shadows onto the northern hemisphere of the planet.

The large crater Odysseus can be seen on the eastern limb of Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across).

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 7, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of visible light centered at 619 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.6 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 49 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

Moons That Share
September 19, 2007

The two moons pictured here each share their orbits with other bodies.

Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across, at left) has two much smaller "Trojan" moons, Helene and Polydeuces (not seen here), that orbit 60 degrees in front of and behind it in its orbit. Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across, at right) shares its orbital path with Janus, and the two moons swap positions every few years -- one moving just a bit closer to Saturn and the other moving slightly farther away.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 28, 2007. Cassini was approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn when it acquired this view. Image scale is 15 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel on Dione.

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

Kingdom of Saturn
September 20, 2007

Saturn sits with its attendants in the icy depths of the outer Solar System.

Near the edge-on rings, moons visible from left to right: Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across), Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) and Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across). The ring shadow forms a headband crowning Saturn's northern hemisphere.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 8, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.6 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 244 kilometers (152 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

Parade of Moons
September 21, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft captures a gathering of three moons near the rings' outer edge as the icy worlds dutifully march about Saturn.

Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) hangs in front of Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) near left. Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) skirts the outer edge of the F ring below center.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 2, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 3.7 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 22 kilometers (14 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 Storms Within
September 24, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft has a peek beneath the hazes in Saturn's upper atmosphere at the swirling vortices that lurk below.

Many vortices can be seen in this image, varying in size from small to large. The largest one in this image exhibits a collar of bright clouds surrounding the central dark core.

The view is centered on a region 46 degrees south of the planet's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 12, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 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

Tethys and Calypso
September 25, 2007

Two companion moons share the sky before the Cassini spacecraft. Tethys is seen here with one of its two Trojan moons. Calypso, which trails the larger moon in its orbit by 60 degrees, is a couple of pixels across near lower right. Telesto (not pictured) is the other Tethys co-orbital moon, leading Tethys by 60 degrees.

For higher resolution Cassini views of Calypso (22 kilometers, or 14 miles across) and Tethys (1071 kilometers, or 665 miles across), see Colorful Cratered Calypso and Tethys in Full View, respectively.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 25, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Tethys. Image scale is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel 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

Above and Below
September 26, 2007

Saturn's rings divide this scene, casting graceful shadows onto the planet. Below, bright clouds hint at the turbulent world beneath the haze.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 13, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 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

Tethys Crescent
September 27, 2007

The pockmarked crescent of Tethys displays slightly darker terrain in a band at its equator. The rim of the great crater Odysseus lurks on the terminator.

Lit terrain seen here is on the leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 29, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 56,000 kilometers (35,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 105 degrees. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Depth of Field
September 28, 2007

Cassini puts the enormous distances in the Saturn system in perspective with this view of Rhea and Prometheus.

Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) sits in the foreground, while Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) lingers barely visible near the rings about 400,000 kilometers (250,000 miles) beyond. Saturn's cloud tops are about 80,000 kilometers (50,000 miles) farther still.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 13, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 miles) per pixel on Saturn and 21 kilometers (13 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

Banded Giant
October 2, 2007

Rhea transits the banded clouds of the Ringed Planet. The edge-on rings cast curved shadows onto Saturn's northern hemisphere. More subtle than the ring shadows, the zonal jet streams of Saturn stripe its globe.

Rhea is 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across. Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) sits on the far side of the ringplane, near right.

The image was taken in visible blue light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 13, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 240 kilometers (149 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
October 3, 2007

Bright clouds twist and twirl in the fast-moving and turbulent winds in the Saturnian north. Hints of organized jets can also be seen.

This view is centered on a region 24 degrees north of Saturn's equator. Shadows cast by the rings cover the bottom of this scene.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 13, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 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

Cracked Marble
October 4, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft looks toward the bright linea -- geologically fresh-looking, icy canyons -- on Dione.

This view looks toward the trailing hemisphere of Dione (1126 kilometers, or 700 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 2, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 9 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

Icy Interloper
October 5, 2007

Rhea enters the Cassini spacecraft's field of view and glides lazily across the scene as the spacecraft observes Saturn's restless atmosphere.

Rhea is 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane. The rings form a dark line across center and cast shadows onto the northern half of this view. The A ring and B ring cast the darker shadows compared to the C ring and the Cassini division, which are less dense.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 13, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 miles) per pixel on Saturn and 21 kilometers (13 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

Cluster of Moons
October 8, 2007

Three of Saturn's closest-orbiting moons are captured here, rounding the rings.

From innermost to outermost are Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across), Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) and Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across).

The F ring displays a double-banded structure here, along with its usual squiggles and kinks. Near right, a faint ringlet can be observed within the Encke Gap.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 4 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 6, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Raging Vortices
October 9, 2007

Monster storms, or vortices, swirl in the roiling atmosphere of giant Saturn.

Popcorn-like clouds appear throughout the field of view. Hints of the organized jets are apparent.

This view looks toward a region centered at 22 degrees south of the planet's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 14, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 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

F Ring Evolution
October 10, 2007

Saturn's narrow F ring displays a bright, double-stranded core, flanked by fainter material. The continuing evolution of this quirky ring is an ongoing subject of study for Cassini scientists.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 4 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 7, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 29 degrees. Image scale is 18 kilometers (11 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

Tethys Aloft
October 11, 2007

An icy moon drifts above the stormy skies of Saturn.

Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) is seen here before the dark line of the rings. The shadows of the C ring and B ring drape the northern hemisphere at top.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 15, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 22 kilometers (17 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

Storms on the Border
October 15, 2007

Large vortices edge their way along the turbulent boundary between east-west flowing cloud bands.

The view is centered on a region 22 degrees south of Saturn's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 15, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 23 kilometers (14 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 View From Iapetus
October 15, 2007

While on final approach for its Sept. 2007 close encounter with Saturn's moon Iapetus, Cassini spun around to take in a sweeping view of the Saturn System.

Iapetus (1,468 kilometers, or 912 miles across) is the only major moon of Saturn with a significant inclination to its orbit. From the other major satellites, the rings would appear nearly edge-on, but from Iapetus, the rings usually appear at a tilt, as seen here.

This natural color mosaic consists of 15 red, green and blue spectral filter images acquired in five wide-angle camera footprints that swept across the scene.

Moons visible in this image: Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) at center left, Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) near the left side ansa (or ring edge), Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) a speck against the ring shadows on Saturn's western limb, Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) against the bluish backdrop of the northern hemisphere, Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) near the right ansa, and Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) near lower right.

The images were obtained on Sept. 10, 2007, at a distance of approximately 3.3 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn at a sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 33 degrees. Image scale is about 195 kilometers (121 miles) per pixel on the planet.

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

On the Final Frontier
October 15, 2007

Saturn sits nested in its rings of ice as Cassini once again plunges toward the graceful giant.

This natural color mosaic was acquired by the Cassini spacecraft as it soared 39 degrees above the unilluminated side of the rings.

Little light makes its way through the rings to be scattered in Cassini's direction in this viewing geometry, making the rings appear somewhat dark compared to the reflective planet. The view can be contrasted with earlier mosaics designed to showcase the rings rather than the planet, which were therefore given longer exposure times (see Blinding Saturn and Ring World).

Bright clouds play in the blue-gray skies of the north. The ring shadows continue to caress the planet as they slide farther south toward their momentary disappearance during equinox in 2009. The rings' reflected light illuminates the southern hemisphere on Saturn's night side.

The scene is reminiscent of the parting glance of NASA's Voyager 1 as it said goodbye to Saturn in 1981 (see PIA00335). Cassini, however, will continue to orbit Saturn for many years to come.

Three of Saturn's moons are visible in this image: Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) at the 2 o'clock position, Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) at the 4 o'clock position and Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) at the 8 o'clock position. Pandora is a faint speck just outside the narrow F ring.

This mosaic was constructed from wide-angle camera images taken just before the narrow-angle camera mosaic PIA08389.

The view combines 45 images -- 15 separate sets of red, green and blue images -- taken over the course of about two hours, as Cassini scanned across the entire main ring system.

The images in this view were obtained on May 9, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 62 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

Grace and Beauty
October 15, 2007

Our robotic explorer Cassini regards the shadow-draped face of Saturn.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 14 degrees above the ringplane. In this viewing geometry all of the main rings, except for the B ring, appear transparent. The rings cast their mirror image onto the planet beyond.

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 wide-angle camera on June 9, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.6 million kilometers (972,000 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

Titan Beyond the Rings
October 15, 2007

Cassini delivers this stunning vista showing small, battered Epimetheus and smog-enshrouded Titan, with Saturn's A and F rings stretching across the scene.

The color information in the colorized view is completely artificial: it is derived from red, green and blue images taken at nearly the same time and phase angle as the clear filter image. This color information was overlaid onto the previously released clear filter view (see Stunning Vistas) in order to approximate the scene as it might appear to human eyes.

The prominent dark region visible in the A ring is the Encke gap (325 kilometers, or 200 miles wide), in which the moon Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) and several narrow ringlets reside. Moon-driven features which score the A ring can easily be seen to the left and right of the Encke gap.

A couple of bright clumps can be seen in the F ring.

Epimetheus is 116 kilometers (72 miles) across and giant Titan is 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles) across.

The view was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 28, 2006, at a distance of approximately 667,000 kilometers (415,000 miles) from Epimetheus and 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Titan. The image captures the illuminated side of the rings. The image scale is 4 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel on Epimetheus and 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel on Titan.

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

Shadowing Saturn
October 15, 2007

Like a silvery pearl, an icy moon crosses the face of Saturn, while two of its siblings cast shadows onto the planet.

Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) hangs in the foreground. Near upper left on Saturn is the small shadow of Mimas. Near lower right is the penumbral shadow of Iapetus -- the part of the moon's shadow where Iapetus does not completely block the sun.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane. The rings' shadows drape across the northern hemisphere. 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 June 15, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (744,000 miles) from Rhea and 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 71 kilometers (44 miles) per pixel on Rhea and 103 kilometers (64 miles) on Saturn.

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

Rainbow on the Rings
October 15, 2007

The opposition effect, a brightness surge that is visible on Saturn's rings when the sun is directly behind the spacecraft, is captured here as a colorful halo of light moving across Saturn's sunlit rings.

The rainbow of color seen here is actually an artifact and a by-product of the spot's movement and the way the color image was produced. Cassini acquires color images by taking sequential exposures using red, green and blue spectral filters, which are then composited together to form a color view. The bright patch traveled across the rings between exposures taken for this view, creating a series of three colorful spots showing its position at three separate moments.

See Opposition Surge on the A Ring for more information about the opposition effect. Surging Onward shows a movie sequence of the bright spot traveling across the rings.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 9 degrees below the ringplane.

The images in this view were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 12, 2007, at a distance of approximately 523,000 kilometers (325,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 31 kilometers (19 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 Crown of Tethys
October 15, 2007

The vast expanse of the crater Odysseus spreads out below Cassini in this mosaic view of Saturn's moon Tethys.

The crater (450 kilometers or 280 miles across) is a remarkably well-preserved example of an ancient multi-ringed impact basin: The outer ring is defined by steep, cliff-like walls that descend to generally broad internal terraces. The inner ring is formed by a prominent, crown-shaped, 140-kilometer (88-mile) diameter circular band of icy mountains. Multi-ring basins are seen on rocky bodies as well as icy ones.

The complex internal structure and multi-ringed nature of these very large basins are believed to arise from the rebound of intense shock waves that penetrated the body at the time of impact.

Tethys is 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) across.

This mosaic was assembled from four clear filter, narrow-angle camera images. The view is an orthographic projection centered on 3 degrees south latitude, 119 degrees west longitude and has a resolution of 572 meters (0.35 mile) per pixel. An orthographic view is most like the view seen by a distant observer looking through a telescope. North is up.

The view was obtained by the Cassini spacecraft on Aug. 30, 2007, from a distance of approximately 97,000 kilometers (60,000 miles) and at a sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 51 degrees.

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

Frosty Scallops
October 15, 2007

The cold, cratered landscape of Saturn's moon Tethys shines in stark relief in this crescent view.

Aside from its obvious aesthetic beauty, this particular Cassini mosaic was obtained mainly to understand important details about how the surface of Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) reflects light at high phase angles (the sun-Tethys-spacecraft viewing angle). The beautiful interplay of light with surface topographic features is an important factor in this regard. The surface is heavily cratered, and at this oblique angle the craters give the surface a highly scalloped appearance.

Unlike some high-resolution crescent views of Saturn's moons, this image truly gives Tethys the appearance of being composed of ice and frost. There appear to be numerous sun glints sparkling across the surface. Some of these might be specular (or mirror-like) reflections off of exposed walls of solid ice inside craters, or they might be uniformly large, frosty or icy-particle covered facets of topography that are so oriented as to give exceptionally bright but diffuse reflections.

The shadows cast by most craters in the scene are not dark, but rather, they are illuminated by light bouncing off of their sunlit walls and those of other craters. This light, which has been scattered multiple times, makes visible some details along the shadowed walls and floors of craters that would not otherwise be visible in this viewing geometry.

This mosaic was assembled from four clear filter, narrow-angle camera images, with low resolution, wide-angle camera data filling a small gap in coverage. The view is an orthographic projection and has a resolution of 211 meters (692 feet) per pixel. An orthographic view is most like the view seen by a distant observer looking through a telescope. North is up.

The view was obtained by the Cassini spacecraft on June 29, 2007, from a distance of approximately 38,000 kilometers (24,000 miles) and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 152 degrees.

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

Mimas and the Great Division
October 16, 2007

Having recently rounded the ansa, or outer edge of the rings, Mimas heads off toward right. This view from the Cassini spacecraft provides a crisp look at the fine material and detailed structure in the Cassini Division that is not readily visible from the Earth. The faint F ring, just visible between Mimas and the A ring, bounds the main rings of Saturn.

Mimas is 397 kilometers (247 miles) across.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 4 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 7, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 18 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel on Mimas.

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

Cassini sails low over the surface of Iapetus on approach to its close encounter with the enigmatic moon on Sept. 10, 2007.

Its flight takes it over the rugged, mountainous ridge along the moon's equator, where ancient, impact battered peaks -- some topping 10 kilometers (6 miles) in height -- are seen rising over the horizon and slipping beneath the spacecraft as it flies.

Frames used in this movie were acquired with the Cassini wide-angle camera on Sept. 10, 2007, as the intrepid robot soared past Iapetus (1,468 kilometers, or 912 miles across), within a few thousand kilometers of the surface. Additional simulated images were inserted between the Cassini images in this movie in order to smooth the appearance of the movement, a scheme called interpolation.

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 - Videos

The moon Prometheus slowly collides with the diffuse inner edge of Saturn's F ring in this movie sequence of Cassini images. The oblong moon pulls a streamer of material from the ring and leaves behind a dark channel.

Once during its 14.7-hour orbit of Saturn, Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) reaches the point in its elliptical path, called apoapse, where it is farthest away from Saturn and closest to the F ring. At this point, Prometheus' gravity is just strong enough to draw a "streamer" of material out of the core region of the F ring.

Initially the dust-sized material drawn away from the ring appears to form a streamer pointing ahead of Prometheus in its orbit. (All orbital motion is towards the right in the movie.) Over time, the streamer falls increasingly farther behind Prometheus because material in the F ring is orbiting slower than the moon. The streamer gets longer and a darker "channel" starts to be seen (to the left of the streamer in the movie).

The creation of such streamers and channels occurs in a cycle that repeats each Prometheus orbit: when Prometheus again reaches apoapse, it draws another streamer of material from the F ring. But since Prometheus orbits faster than the material in the ring, this new streamer is pulled from a different location in the ring about 3.2 degrees (in longitude) ahead of the previous one.

In this way, a whole series of streamer-channels is created along the F ring. In some observations, 10 to 15 streamer-channels can easily be seen in the F ring at one time (see Shapping the Drapes). Eventually, a streamer-channel disappears as shearing forces (i.e., Keplerian shear) act to disperse the constituent dust particles.

The movie shows just under half of a complete streamer-channel cycle. The dark frames in the movie represent the period during which Prometheus and the F ring pass through Saturn's shadow.

The images in the movie were acquired by the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 23 and 24, 2006. The movie sequence consists of 72 clear spectral filter images taken every 10.5 minutes over a period of about 12.5 hours.

The original images were cropped to show only the region around Prometheus and the nearby portion of the F ring. The movie covers the region between 138,000 and 142,000 kilometers (86,000 and 88,000 miles) radially from Saturn and 1 degree in longitude from Prometheus on each side. Each frame was reprojected such that the vertical axis represents distance from Saturn and the horizontal axis represents longitude around Saturn. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel in the vertical direction; the images cover 0.005 degrees of longitude in the horizontal direction. Because of the reprojection, the F ring appears straight, rather than slightly curved, as it otherwise would.

Since the F ring has an elliptical shape, its radial distance from Saturn varies by about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) around the ring. This accounts for the apparent vertical movement of the ring over the course of the movie. Only a very small part of the ring appears in each of the reprojected frames, so the difference in the ring's radial distance from left to right across any single frame is small enough as to be effectively unnoticeable.

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: N