The Moving Moons of Saturn
Explanation:
The moons of Saturn never stop.
A space traveler orbiting the
ringed giant planet
would witness a continuing
silent dance where Saturn's
multiple moons pass near each other in numerous combinations.
Like a miniature
Solar System,
the innermost moons
orbit Saturn the fastest.
The
above movie was centered on Saturn's moon
Rhea, so that the moons
Mimas and
Enceladus appear to glide by.
At 1,500 kilometers across,
Rhea
is over three times larger than the comparably sized
Mimas and
Enceladus.
The Sun illuminates the scene from the lower right,
giving all of the moons the same
crescent phase.
The
above time lapse movie was created by the Saturn-orbiting robotic
Cassini spacecraft
over a period of about 40 minutes.
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.
