Saturn, Rings, and Two Moons
Explanation:
NASA's robot spacecraft
Voyager 2 made
this image of
Saturn as it
began to explore the
Saturn system in 1981.
Saturn's famous rings are visible along with two of
its moons,
Rhea and
Dione
which appear as faint dots on the right
and lower right part of the picture.
Astronomers believe that Saturn's moons play a
fundamental role in sculpting its elaborate
ring system.
A robot spacecraft named
Cassini was
launched last October and is expected to
rendezvous with the giant gas planet in 2004.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
