Saturns Rings from the Inside Out
Explanation:
What do Saturn's rings look like from Saturn?
Images from the robotic
spacecraft Cassini
are providing
humanity with this unprecedented vantage point as it
nears the completion of its mission.
Previous to Cassini's
Grand Finale orbits,
all images of
Saturn's majestic ring
system were taken from outside of the rings
looking in.
Pictured in the inset is the
remarkable video,
while the spacecraft's positions are depicted in the surrounding animation.
Details of the
complex rings are evident as
the short time-lapse sequence begins, while the
paper-thin thickness of the rings becomes apparent near the video's end.
The featured images were taken on August 20.
Cassini has
only a few more orbits
around Saturn left before it is directed to
dive into the giant planet on September 15.
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.
