... Launched in 1997 and bound for Saturn in 2004, Cassini sent back the above image last week while approaching the giant planet Jupiter. ... Most galaxies have a single nucleus -- does this galaxy have four? The strange answer leads astronomers to conclude that the nucleus of the surrounding galaxy is not even visible in this image. ... 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 . ...