Pan in the Driver's Seat
May 28, 2008

Pan coasts down its private highway within the Encke Gap.

The process by which Pan (28 kilometers, or 17 miles across) maintains the gap, clearing the neighborhood around its orbit, is believed to be similar to the way that planets clear gaps in debris disks around young stars.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 11 degrees above the ringplane.

The limb of Saturn is seen through the rings at upper left.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 24, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (784,000 miles) from Pan. Image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixe.

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

Splinter of Light
May 29, 2008

A sliver of "ringshine" pierces the darkness of Saturn's night side.

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

The ring shadows fall into darkness beyond the terminator in the north. South of the equator, a dim glow brightens the darkened globe. This light, called ringshine, comes from sunlight reflected off the sunward side of the expansive rings (the opposite face of the ringplane from this perspective). The effect is pronounced in the eclipse view In Saturn's Shadow.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 19, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 851,000 kilometers (529,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 48 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

A Capital Storm
May 30, 2008

A great, eye-like vortex stares out of Saturn's roiling atmosphere. The storm is wide enough to span the distance from Washington, DC to London. Bright Enceladus (504 kilometers, or 313 miles across) drifts past in the foreground.

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

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 23, 2008 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (783,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 72 kilometers (45 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

Shadows of Janus
June 2, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft catches a hint of topography on Janus, which orbits Saturn just outside the planet's narrow F ring.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 12 degrees above the ringplane. Janus is 179 kilometers (111 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 14, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from Janus and at a Sun-Janus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 22 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

Fortunate View
June 3, 2008

From a highly inclined orbit, the Cassini spacecraft looks toward far northern latitudes on Tethys.

Here, the spacecraft was above a position about 45 degrees north of the moon's equator. This vantage point afforded a view of the moon's three most recognizable features: the Ithaca Chasma canyon system (at lower right), Odysseus crater (at upper left) and the equatorial band of darker terrain (at lower left).

Lit terrain seen here is on the leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,062 kilometers, or 660 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 29, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 991,000 kilometers (616,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 73 degrees. Image scale is 6 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Spotting Prometheus
June 4, 2008

The flattened, potato-like form of Prometheus glides silently within the Roche Division, between Saturn's A and F rings.

Prometheus (86 kilometers, or 53 miles across at its widest point) is on the side of the rings closest to the Cassini spacecraft in this view. The image looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about a degree below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 2, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (660,000 miles) from Prometheus. Image scale is 6 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Raging Planet
June 5, 2008

Myriad vortices churn through Saturn's high northern latitudes while Dione's shadow drifts across the gas giant's face.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 43 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 7, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (760,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 69 kilometers (43 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

Canyons' End
June 6, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft provides an excellent view of the southernmost reaches of the great rift of Tethys -- Ithaca Chasma.

The view is centered on terrain at 43 degrees south latitude, 52 degrees west longitude. North on Tethys (1,062 kilometers, or 660 miles across) is up and rotated 28 degrees to the right.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 183,000 kilometers (114,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 73 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

F Ring Close-up
June 9, 2008

Multiple tenuous strands flank the brilliant core of Saturn's F ring. These delicate, flanking ringlets wind through the F ring, creating a tight spiral.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 35 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 262,000 kilometers (163,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 137 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

Broken Ice
June 10, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft takes in a southern view of the scarred face of icy Tethys.

The moon's south pole is at bottom center, just above the terminator. To the left of the pole is the crater Melanthius, with its complex of central peaks poking upward into sunlight. On the limb at right, Ithaca Chasma extends northward. The smoothness of the limb is interrupted at the 11 o'clock position by the rim of the crater Odysseus. A belt of darker terrain girdles the moon's equator.

This is a similar view to that shown in Canyons' End.

This view shows terrain to the west of that seen in the earlier image.

Lit terrain seen here is on the leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,062 kilometers, 660 miles across). North is up and rotated 9 degrees to the right.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 477,000 kilometers (296,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 44 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

Distant Moon
June 11, 2008

With nearby Saturn looming large, the Cassini spacecraft spies the bright distant moon Tethys in the icy blackness beyond.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 15 degrees above the ringplane.

Tethys is 1,062 kilometers, or 660 miles, across.

The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 13, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (836,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 81 kilometers (50 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Pan's Gap
June 12, 2008

The Encke Gap in Saturn's A ring is maintained by the presence of the moon Pan, which shares the gap with several diffuse ringlets. The scalloped appearance in the inner (left side) edge of the gap results from perturbations caused by Pan as it sweeps through the 325-kilometer (200-mile) wide lane.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 38 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 264,000 kilometers (164,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Structure Along the Edge
June 16, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft stares at the Huygens Gap -- the region between Saturn's outer B ring and the ringlets of the prominent Cassini Division -- in this high-resolution view.

Ring scientists think that the scrambled pattern seen here in the B ring's outer edge might represent gravitational clumping of particles there -- that is, the self-gravity of groups of particles orbiting together makes them form clumps. This may be due to the fact that this region is compressed periodically, owing to perturbations by the moon Mimas. The outer B ring edge (at left) is, in fact, sculpted by an orbital resonance with Mimas.

The clumping feature may be due to the fact that this region is compressed periodically, owing to perturbations by Mimas.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 44 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 270,000 kilometers (168,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Crater Comparison
June 17, 2008

This view of Saturn's moon Rhea includes two large and ancient impact basins and a more recent, bright ray crater.

The large basin above center is named Tirawa. This feature (and the similar-sized crater to its left) is overprinted by many other craters, meaning it is an extremely old feature that has collected other impacts over the eons.

For a high-resolution view of the bright ray crater, see Catch That Crater.

This bright ray crater appears to be a younger feature, as it possesses crisp edges, is not heavily overprinted by other craters, and the blanket of bright, fresh material thrown out by the impact is still visible.

Lit terrain seen here is on the moon's anti-Saturn side. North on Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) is toward the top of the image. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 13, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 889,000 kilometers (552,000 miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 31 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

Stellar Horizon
June 18, 2008

The nearest star system, the trinary star Alpha Centauri, hangs above the horizon of Saturn. Both Alpha Centauri A and B -- stars very similar to our own -- are clearly distinguishable in this image. (The third star in the Alpha Centauri system, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, is not visible here.)

From the orbit of Saturn, light (as well as Cassini's radio signal) takes a little more than an hour travel to Earth. The distance to Alpha Centauri is so great that light from these stars takes more than four years to reach our Solar System. Thus, although Saturn seems a distant frontier, the nearest star is almost 30,000 times farther away.

This image is part of a stellar occultation sequence, during which Cassini watches as a star (or stars) as it passes behind Saturn. Light from the stars is attenuated by the uppermost reaches of Saturn's gaseous envelope, revealing information about the structure and composition of the planet's atmosphere.

The view was captured from about 66 degrees above the ringplane and faces southward on Saturn. Ring shadows mask the planet's northern latitudes at bottom.

The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 17, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 534,000 kilometers (332,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale on Saturn is about 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Ragged Crescent
June 19, 2008

Craters cover the rugged surface of Saturn's moon Janus.

The view is from 42 degrees above the moon's equator. North on Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles across) is towards the top of the image.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 17, 2008 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized green light centered at 617 and 568 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 350,000 kilometers (217,000 miles) from Janus and at a Sun-Janus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 101 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Tight Spiral
June 20, 2008

This high-resolution view shows, at left, a spiral density wave in Saturn's inner B ring. A spiral density wave is a spiral-shaped massing of particles that tightly winds many times around the planet. These waves decrease in wavelength with increasing distance from the planet.

Scientists use images like this one to understand the mass of the rings and the collisional dynamics of the ring particles.

The view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 50 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 279,000 kilometers (173,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Behind the Veil
June 24, 2008

Saturn's northern hemisphere is visible through its disc of icy particles.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the A ring from about 21 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 19, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 806,000 kilometers (501,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 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

Swirling Storms
June 25, 2008

A line of dark vortices charge through Saturn's "Storm Alley" -- a region that has seen intensive storm activity since the Cassini spacecraft began its observations of the planet in early 2004.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 19, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 863,000 kilometers (536,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 48 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

On the South Side
June 26, 2008

This Cassini spacecraft view looks almost directly at the south pole of Tethys. The large crater Melanthius is seen above center.

Tethys is 1,062 kilometers (660 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 18, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 357,000 kilometers (222,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 72 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Perspective on Saturn
June 27, 2008

The ringed planet sits in repose, the center of its own macrocosm of many rings and moons and one artificial satellite named Cassini. Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is visible at upper left. Although unseen in this view, Enceladus (504 kilometers, or 313 miles across) casts its shadow upon the planet. The rings also block the sun's light from the low latitudes of the northern hemisphere.

During Cassini's extended mission, dubbed the Cassini Equinox Mission, which begins on July 1, 2008, the ring shadows will slip past the planet's equator and into the southern hemisphere as Saturn passes through its northern vernal equinox on August 11, 2009, and the sun moves northward through the ring plane.

This view looks down on the un-illuminated side of the rings from about 22 degrees above (north of) the ring plane. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 16, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 86 kilometers (53 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

Saturn ... Four Years Later
June 27, 2008

New hues are creeping into Saturn's northern cloud bands as winter gives way to spring there.

During its first four years of exploration, Cassini has made the Saturn system a familiar place to us Earthlings. The intrepid craft has returned more than 150,000 images since arriving in orbit in mid-2004. In this natural color image, the blues and grays of Saturn's northern hemisphere, so striking in early Cassini images, are diminishing in intensity with the slow change of seasons on Saturn, and are almost imperceptibly being replaced by pale shades of the colors commonly seen by Cassini in the planet's southern hemisphere.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about less than a degree below the ring plane. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 23, 2008, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (740,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 68 kilometers (42 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Storms of the High North
June 27, 2008

Sinuous clouds and hurricane-sized vortices mingle in Saturn's northern skies.

This view looks toward a region located at 70 degrees north latitude on Saturn.

Despite the level of detail visible here, the region shown is wide enough to contain the planet Mars comfortably.

The image was taken with Cassini's CB1 spectral filter, which is sensitive to wavelengths of visible red light centered at 619 nanometers. The view was acquired with the spacecraft's narrow-angle camera on May 23, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (775,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Chasing Away the Blues
June 30, 2008

Golden hues continue to creep northward on Saturn, subduing the blues and grays the Cassini spacecraft witnessed upon arrival in mid-2004.

This view was acquired from about 27 degrees above the ringplane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 23, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (780,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 71 kilometers (44 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Chasing Away the Blues
July 1, 2008

Saturn's moon Prometheus pulls away from an encounter with the narrow F ring, trailing a streamer of fine, icy particles behind it.

See Soft Collision for a movie of Prometheus creating a streamer in the F ring.

Prometheus (86 kilometers, or 53 miles across at its widest point) is lit by the Sun from lower right. Dim, reflected light from Saturn illuminates the moon from the top. Some hints of topography can be seen on the Saturn-lit side. The F-ring streamer is seen at left.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 67 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 25, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 534,000 kilometers (332,000 miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 92 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

Paisley Skies
July 2, 2008

Twirling vortices swim through a vast ocean of hydrogen and helium in Saturn's far north.

This view looks toward a region at 70 degrees north latitude.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 23, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (776,000 miles) from Saturn. 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

Rugged Janus
July 3, 2008

Craters large and small cover the rugged surface of Saturn's moon Janus.

This view looks toward the southern hemisphere of Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles across at its widest point). The moon's south pole is at center.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 26, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 930 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 186,000 kilometers (115,000 miles) from Janus and at a Sun-Janus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 83 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

Rough Around the Edges
July 7, 2008

This detailed look at Saturn's A ring captures Daphnis in the narrow Keeler Gap. The small moon creates complex wave patterns in the gap edges that Cassini scientists are working to understand.

To the right of the Keeler Gap, the outer A-ring edge is significantly brighter than the rest of the ring.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 32 degrees above the ringplane. Daphnis is 8 kilometers (5 miles) wide.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 31, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (629,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 6 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Odysseus the Great
July 8, 2008
Tethys sports an enormous impact basin, Odysseus. The impact basin is 450-kilometers (280-miles) wide and contains a central complex of mountains.

See The Great Basin for a close-up view of Odysseus.

Lit terrain seen here is on leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,062 kilometers, 660 miles across). North is up.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 31, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 717,000 kilometers (446,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 59 degrees. 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

Perturbed Edge
July 9, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft continues to investigate the intriguing structure in Saturn's outer B-ring edge. This region has a much perturbed character compared to the orderly rings around it.

Ring scientists think these features may be groupings of particles that clump together under to their own gravity. The clumping features may result from the fact that this region is compressed periodically, owing to perturbations by the moon Mimas. Mimas maintains this ring edge via a gravitational resonance.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 51 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 2, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 185,000 kilometers (115,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 771 meters (2,530 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

Spokes on the Wheel
July 11, 2008
As they wheel about the planet, Saturn's sunlit rings often exhibit dark, radial markings called spokes.

Spokes are seen only in the broad B ring, and can also appear bright in certain viewing geometries (see Spoke Sighting).

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 11 degrees below the ringplane.

Pandora (81 kilometers, or 50 miles across) is a speck above the rings at left. The planet's shadow darkens the ringplane at lower right.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 3, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (636,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 19 degrees. Image scale is 61 kilometers (38 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Leading Hemisphere
July 14, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft presents a clear view of Tethys' equatorial band of dark terrain, along with the crater Odysseus.

This view looks toward the leading hemisphere of Tethys (1,062 kilometers, or 660 miles across). North is toward the top of the image.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 4, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (720,000 miles) from Tethys and at a Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 4 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

Peace Above, Turmoil Below
July 15, 2008

Tethys passes silently between Saturn and Cassini as a train of storms rumbles through the planet's southern hemisphere. The rings' shadows darken the planet at top.

Tethys is 1,062 kilometers (660 miles) across.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 2 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 4, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (756,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 69 kilometers (43 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

Beyond the Limb
July 16, 2008

Saturn's C ring emerges from behind the planet's hazy limb.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 15 degrees below the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 17, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 937,000 kilometers (582,000 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

Mountain of Ice
July 17, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft captures a far-off view of Saturn's irregularly shaped, icy moon Janus.

North on Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles across at its widest point) is toward the top of the image.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 10, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 886,000 kilometers (551,000 miles) from Janus and at a Sun-Janus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 33 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

Moons in Transit
July 18, 2008

Two small moons race across the face of Saturn. The planet's icy rings cast dark shadows onto the feathery clouds below.

Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles across) appears above the rings near center. Pandora (81 kilometers, or 50 miles across) is slightly closer to Saturn, to the left of Janus.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 7 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 18, 2008 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 752 and 705 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (683,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 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

Icy Desolation
July 21, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft surveys the stark beauty of Saturn's moon Rhea.

Rhea's north pole is up and tilted slightly away from Cassini in this view; the moon's south pole is in sunlight at bottom. Lit terrain seen here is on the anti-Saturn side of Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across).

The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 10, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 420,000 kilometers (261,000 miles) from Rhea and at a Sun-Rhea-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 53 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

Can you imagine one day looking down on this massive spectacle with human eyes???

"Make it so, Number One."

Saturn is an amazing enough spectacle through an amateur 'scope, the beauty it would present to a human that had the vantage point of Cassini just defies imagination. The best artists mankind has ever produce lack the imagination and talent that is obvious in the works of Mother Nature.

One of the most beautiful images ever taken from space has to be the departure shot from Voyager 1, as it left the ecliptic and looked down on Saturn from an angle that can never be observed from Earth:



Those Voyagers were amazing bits of kit. Built with 70's technology they are still working even now as the probe the very edge of the solar system, with out them trail blazing the outer solar system we would never have had Cassini (or Galileo at Jupiter). Those two little machines were the unsung heroes of US space exploration in the 1980s, over shadowed as they were by the triumphs and tragedies of the shuttle programme (Voyager 2 made it's closest pass to Uranus on 24^th January 1986, it's achievement was soon knocked out of the papers, 4 days later Challenger and her brave crew were lost).

Encke's Moon
July 22, 2008

Saucer-shaped Pan glides through the Encke Gap in Saturn's rings.

See Saturn's Saucer Moons for higher resolution views of the "saucer moons" Pan (28 kilometers, or 17 miles across at its widest point) and Atlas (30 kilometers, or 19 miles across at its widest point).

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 20 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 10, 2008 at a distance of approximately 799,000 kilometers (496,000 miles) from Pan. 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

I don't think I could've said it any better than that Waspie!

Thank you, although I suspect you would have avoided the typos evident in my post.

Intelligence and passion cannot be disrupted by a few typos!

Besides, if there were any typos, I'd chalk them up to a few wondrous British ales...the consumption of which is a sign of supreme taste and intelligence!!!!

MID, Should I be looking for my Tall Space BOOTS?

Ah, so many of the world's troubles have been solved with the application of a few (or more) black & tans!

Above the Cracks
July 23, 2008

This Cassini spacecraft view, taken from a vantage point 64 degrees above Dione's equator, looks down onto the bright fractures that cover the moon's trailing side. The fractures crisscross a region of terrain that is significantly darker than the rest of the moon's surface.

Dione is 1,123 kilometers (698 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 15, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 601,000 kilometers (374,000 miles) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 76 degrees. Image scale is 4 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

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

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Obscuring Epimetheus
July 24, 2008

Saturn's narrow F ring partly obscures the small moon Epimetheus. Interior to the F ring is the bright A ring.

Epimetheus (113 kilometers, or 70 miles across at its widest point) is on the side of the rings opposite from Cassini.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 2 degrees below the ringplane.The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 11, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (766,000 miles) from Epimetheus. Image scale is 7 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

Blasted by Impacts
July 25, 2008

Deep craters riddle the pulverized, icy surface of Saturn's moon Mimas.

This view looks toward southern latitudes on Mimas from a vantage point 47 degrees below the moon's equator. North is towards the top of the image and rotated 40 degrees to the right.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 16, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 217,000 kilometers (135,000 miles) from Mimas and at a Sun-Mimas-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 83 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

Racing 'Round the North
July 29, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft studies the dynamics of Saturn's blustery cloud bands as spring approaches in the northern hemisphere.

Janus casts its shadow onto Saturn at right, just above the curving shadow of the rings.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 9 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 19, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (786,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 72 kilometers (45 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