... Cassini Spacecraft Approaches Jupiter . ... Launched in 1997 and bound for Saturn in 2004, Cassini sent back the above image last week while approaching the giant planet Jupiter. ... The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image. ... Sputnik: Traveling Companion . ... Part of a binary star system only 8 light-years away, it was known in modern times to have a small companion star, Sirius B. N81: Star Cradle in the SMC . ...