Saturn: Light, Dark, and Strange
Explanation:
What's creating those dark bands on Saturn?
Sometimes it takes a little
sleuthing to figure out the how and why of a
picture taken by the Saturn-orbiting
Cassini spacecraft.
Let's see. That large orb on the left must be
Saturn itself.
Those arcs on the right are surely the
rings.
The dark band running diagonally must be the shadow of Saturn on the rings.
That leaves the unusual dark bands superposed on Saturn's disk -- are they the shadows
of the rings?
A
punctilious detective would
conclude that they are not.
If one looks carefully, the
rings arc from behind the planet on the lower left, around to the right, and
therefore must pass on the camera side of the planet on the upper left.
So the rings themselves cause the dark streaks on Saturn.
These rings segments appear dark because they are
in the shadow of Saturn.
The night part of Saturn shows a faint glow because of sunlight reflected from other
parts of the rings.
Got
it?
Unfortunately, if it weren't for the tile floor,
tomorrow's picture would be even harder to understand.
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.
