Cassini Looks Out from Saturn
Explanation:
This is what Saturn looks like from inside the rings.
In 2017, for the
first time,
NASA directed the
Cassini spacecraft
to swoop between Saturn and its rings.
During the dive,
the robotic spacecraft took hundreds of images showing
unprecedented detail for structures in Saturn's atmosphere.
Looking back out, however, the spacecraft was also able to capture impressive vistas.
In the featured image, taken a few hours before closest approach,
Saturn's unusual northern
hexagon is seen surrounding
the North Pole.
Saturn's B ring is the closest visible, while the dark
Cassini Division separates B from the outer A.
A close inspection will find the
two small
moons that
shepherd the
F-ring,
the farthest ring discernable.
A few months after this image was taken --
and after more than a decade of exploration and discovery -- the
Cassini spacecraft ran
low on fuel and was directed to
enter Saturn's atmosphere,
where it surely
melted.
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.
