Saturn s Infrared Glow
Explanation:
Known for its bright
ring
system and many
moons, gas giant
Saturn looks strange and unfamiliar in this false-color
view from the Cassini spacecraft.
In fact,
in this Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
(
VIMS)
mosaic the famous rings
are almost invisible, seen edge-on cutting across
picture center.
The most striking contrast in the image is
along the terminator or boundary between night and day.
To the right (day side) blue-green hues
are visible sunlight reflected from Saturn's cloud tops.
But on the left (night side) in the absence of sunlight,
the
lantern-like
glow of infrared radiation from the
planet's warm interior silhouettes features at
Saturn's deeper cloud levels.
The thermal infrared glow is also apparent in the broad bands
of
ring shadows
draped across the northern hemisphere
of Saturn.
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.
