Cassinis Last Ring Portrait at Saturn
Explanation:
How should Cassini say farewell to Saturn?
Three days before
plunging
into Saturn's sunny side,
the robotic Cassini spacecraft swooped
far behind Saturn's night side with cameras blazing.
Thirty-six of these images have been merged -- by an alert and adept
citizen scientist -- into a last full-ring portrait of
Cassini's home planet for the
past 13 years.
The Sun
is just above the frame, causing Saturn to cast a
dark
shadow onto its enormous rings.
This shadow position
cannot be imaged from Earth
and will not be visible again until another Earth-launched spaceship visits the ringed
giant.
Data and images
from Cassini's
mission-ending dive into
Saturn's atmosphere on September 15 continue to be analyzed.
Almost Hyperspace:
Random APOD Generator
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.
