Saturn at Night
Explanation:
Splendors seldom seen
are revealed in this glorious picture from
Saturn's shadow.
Imaged
by Cassini on October 17, 2012 during its 174th orbit,
the ringed planet's night side is viewed
from a perspective 19 degrees below the ring plane at a distance
of about 800,000 kilometers with the Sun almost directly behind
the planet.
A 60 frame mosaic, images made with infrared, red, and violet filters
were combined to create an enhanced, false-color view.
Strongly backlit, the rings look bright away from the planet
but dark in silhouette against the gas giant.
Above center, they reflect a faint, eerie light on the cloud tops while
Saturn casts its own dark shadow on the rings.
A similar Cassini image from 2006 also
featured planet Earth as a pale blue dot in the distance.
Instead, this scene includes icy moons
Enceladus (closer to the rings) and
Tethys below the rings on the left.
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.
