Cassini Approaches Saturn
Explanation:
Cassini, a
robot spacecraft
launched in 1997 by
NASA,
is close enough now to resolve many
rings and
moons of its destination planet:
Saturn.
The spacecraft has closed to about two
Earth-Sun separations from the
ringed giant.
Last month,
Cassini snapped several images during an engineering test.
These images have been combined into the contrast-enhanced color composite
pictured above.
Saturn's rings and
cloud-tops are visible on the far right, while
Titan, its largest moon, is visible as the speck on the lower left.
When arriving at Saturn in July 2004, the
Cassini orbiter will begin to circle and study
the Saturnian system.
Several months later, a
probe named Huygens will separate and attempt to land on the
surface of
Titan.
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.
