Thin Rings Around Polarized Saturn
Explanation:
How thin are the rings of Saturn?
Brightness measurements from different angles have shown
Saturn's rings
to be about one kilometer thick, making them many times thinner,
in relative proportion, than a
razor blade.
This thinness
sometimes appears in
dramatic fashion
during an image taken nearly along the ring plane.
The
robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting
Saturn
has now captured another shot that dramatically highlights the ring's thinness.
The
above artistic looking image was taken early last month in
infrared
polarized light.
If alone in space, the unlit part of Saturn would be much darker.
Reflection of light off of moons like
Enceladus (pictured) and the billions of small
particles in Saturn's rings, however, gives the
giant space orb an unusual glow, an effect highlighted in polarized light.
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.
