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December 18, 2012 | 11
The giant planet Saturn looks a bit like a delicate Christmas ornament in a new photomosaic released by NASA.
The Cassini orbiter, currently exploring Saturn and its moons, snapped the 60 images that would become the mosaic in October, as the spacecraft swung through the planet's shadow. At the time Cassini was beneath the plane of the rings. The result is an enhanced-color panorama of the giant world and its rings, backlit by the sun against the blackness of space. The shadow of Saturn itself can be seen as a dark crescent shape cast across the plane of the rings. Just below and to the left of the rings are two white dots: Saturn's moons Enceladus and Tethys.
"Of all the many glorious images we have received from Saturn, none are more strikingly unusual than those taken from Saturn's shadow," Cassini's imaging team lead Carolyn Porco of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., said in a prepared statement.
—John Matson
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11 Comments
Add Commentwow!or should I say....WOW!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are four inner planets in our solar system, and four outer gas giant planets. While we will probably be able to travel to the inner planets within our lifetime, the outer planets will be accessible to us only through fantastic pictures like this one for the foreseeable future. BTW, it takes about 7 million calories of energy to boost a pound of mass out of the Earth's gravity well. LENR is a new clean, very cheap, and super abundant energy technology that gives hydrogen an order of 5 (i.e. a number followed by 5 zeros) more energy density than gasoline. Technology is proceeding at an exponential rate, and is about to explode, meaning that it isn't far-fetched we will develop cosmopolitan interplanetary travel in our life time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSaturn is NOT God... despite what the Greeks may have believed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA pound of mass, eh?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy thoughts exactly. You, sir, deserve a hug.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLovely!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow about these Gorgeous Mornings on Mars Images Captured by the Orbiter! http://bit.ly/Yiar2S
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBeautiful beyond believe indeed but also curious. Why is it that the ring seems to be behind the greenish globe? They pass in front as a dark band. I am sure it is not a phony picture but it looks like it was made up. I really hope we can travel and look at that for ourselves, of course, flying by around the planet, in our lifetime. If it not in our lifetime hopefully future generations will certainly enjoy that sight.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLooking at the picture again. It is not that beautiful (as it looks from this picture). But anyway is amazing. And more amazing that we can get so close and take a picture. Would you be willing to spends several months (or perhaps weeks at its best) to go there and see something like this?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis picture makes a Great desktop background. Absolutely Gorgeous!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think it is just a marvelous image. I like the detail of the rings, especially. One question, though. Why is the outermost ring brighter and white. It was not enhanced, possibly?
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