Saturn s Infrared Glow
Explanation:
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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.
APOD presents: Astronomy Pictures of the Year for 2007
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.
