Saturn, Titan, Rings, and Haze
Explanation:
This is not a
solar eclipse.
Pictured above is a busy vista of moons and rings taken at Saturn.
The large circular object in the center of the image is
Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and one of the most
intriguing objects in the entire
Solar System.
The dark spot in the center is the main solid part of the moon.
The bright surrounding ring is atmospheric
haze above Titan,
gas that is scattering sunlight to a camera operating onboard the
robotic Cassini spacecraft.
Cutting horizontally across the image are the
rings of Saturn, seen nearly edge on.
At the lower right of Titan is
Enceladus,
a small moon of Saturn.
Since the image was taken pointing nearly at the Sun, the surfaces of
Titan and Enceladus appear
in
silhouette, and the
rings of Saturn appear similar to a
photographic
negative.
Now if you look really
really closely at Enceladus, you can see a hint of
icy jets shooting out toward the bottom of the image.
It is these jets that inspired
future proposals
to land on Enceladus, burrow into the ice, and search for
signs of extraterrestrial life.
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.
