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Saturns Golden Rings

Nothing but rings in this Cassini photograph. NASAs spacecraft captured this beautiful image of Saturns outer B and inner A rings. The colour of the rings looks more golden now than earlier in the mission because the Cassinis angle to the rings has changed. This view has a high phase angle, towards the unlit side of the rings. Cassini took this image on September 29, 2006 when it was approximately 1.829 million kilometers (1.137 million miles) from Saturn.

A Huge Storm on Saturns South Pole

This photograph shows a swirling vortex around Saturns southern pole. This “hurricane” is approximately 8,000 km (5,000 miles) across, and has a well-developed eye ringed by clouds. NASAs Cassini spacecraft had the perfect perspective when it took this photograph, seeing right down into the storm, and capturing the shadows cast by the surrounding clouds. This funnel of clouds allows scientists to look deeper into Saturns atmosphere than anywhere else on the planet.

A Star Peeks Through Saturns Rings

This Cassini image shows a star peeking through Saturns rings. Scientists use these kinds of images to study the thickness and consistency of the rings. As the light from the obscured star dims and brightens, it can give researchers clues about how various features might have formed. Cassini took this image on September 26, 2006 when it was approximately 515,000 kilometers (320,000 miles) from Saturn.

Subtle Saturn

This beautiful view of Saturn was taken by Cassini when it was looking through the dark side of the planets rings. The diagonal slice through the photo is Saturns shadow falling across the rings. Cassini took this image on September 11, 2006 when it was approximately 1.1 million kilometres (700,000 miles) from Saturn.

Janus Poses Above Saturn

This incredible photograph shows Saturns potato-shaped Janus, posing above the planets cloudy atmosphere. Janus is only 181 kilometers (113 miles) across, and it shows the scars of many impacts with other objects in the Solar System. Like Saturns other smaller moons, Janus could be covered with a layer of fine, dust-sized icy material. Cassini took this photo on September 25, 2006 when it was only 145,000 kilometers (90,000 miles) from Janus.

Gaps in Saturns Rings

This Cassini image shows the dark gaps in Saturns A ring, which are caused by a collection of moons. Even though these moons max out at a few dozen kilometres across, they have enough gravity to pull particles out of the ring orbit as they pass by. Cassini took this photograph on September 11, 2006 from a distance of 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn.

Moonlet Tugs at Saturns Rings

This Cassini photograph shows the power Saturns tiniest moons have over its gossamer rings. This knot in Saturns F ring is caused by the gravitational influence of a tiny moon… or moons. Scientists believe there could be several tiny moonlets of various sizes perturbing the rings to create these knots. Cassini took this image on Sept. 25, 2006 when it was approximately 255,000 kilometers (159,000 miles) from Saturn.

String of Pearls in Saturns Atmosphere

This Cassini photograph shows a strange line of white dots in a line across the atmosphere in Saturns northern latitudes. The image was made using Cassinis visual and infrared mapping spectrometer, and the line of dots are clearings in Saturns cloud system. There are more than two dozen of these clearings, spaced apart by about 3.5 degrees in longitude. Scientists think they might be caused by a large cloud formation or wave that encircles the whole planet.

Saturns Moons Could be Creating New Rings

When Cassini passed directly behind Saturn, the Ringed Planet obscured the Sun, and gave the spacecraft a unique view of the delicate ring structure. These observations have shown scientists that the planets moon system is probably generating new rings. These moons are pounded by micrometeorites over time, but they dont have the gravity to hang onto the material. Over time, this material floats away from the moons and collects into the diffuse rings we see today.

Something Recently Collided Into Saturns Rings

Astronomers have found evidence that a comet or asteroid might have recently collided with Saturns rings. New images from Cassini show a region of Saturns D ring that seems to have a series of smaller ringlets outside it. This structure was originally discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope more than 10 years ago, but spacing between the ringlets has decreased by half since then; from 60 km down to 30 km.

Aldebaran Slips Behind the Rings

In this Cassini image, the bright giant red star Aldebaran slips behind Saturns rings. This kind of view is known as a stellar occultation, and it gives scientists an opportunity to study the rings themselves by how the block and distort light from the star. The stars light fluctuates as it passes behind various regions of the rings, providing details on ring thickness and composition.

Saturns Clouds in Silhouette

This false-colour mosaic of Saturn was taken by NASAs Cassini spacecraft in February, 2006. The strange red colour is the glow of thermal radiation from inside Saturns warm interior, which is visible on the night-side of the planet. The northern hemisphere is brighter because the atmosphere is relatively clear - this reveals the turbulent lower clouds. Cassini took this image when it was 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn.

Folds on the Surface of Enceladus

This Cassini photograph shows the southern polar region of Saturns moon Enceladus. This is the region of the moon that is known to be geologically active, spraying water ice into orbit around Saturn. It has deep folds and ridges, clearly visible at the top of the image. Cassini took this image on September 9, 2006 when it was approximately 66,000 kilometers (41,000 miles) from Enceladus.

Twin Lakes on Titan

This incredible photograph taken by NASAs Cassini spacecraft shows two lakes on the surface of Saturns moon Titan, attached by a thin channel. The image was taken during Cassinis most recent flyby, when it passed by on September 23, 2006. On Earth, theyd be filled with water, but its just too cold on Titan; so these lakes contain a mixture of methane and ethane.

New Ring Discovered at Saturn

Cassini recently passed behind Saturn, so that the Ringed Planet completely obscured the Sun from view. This revealed intricate details in the planets environment, including a brand new ring. This newly discovered ring is outside Saturns main rings, but inside the G and E rings - the moons Janus and Epimetheus orbit within it. During its pass behind Saturn, Cassini also captured an image of the Earth, from a vantage of nearly 1.5 billion km (930 million miles) away..

Cloud of Ethane Discovered on Titan

When preparing for Cassinis visit to Saturns moon Titan, researchers expected to see the place awash in ethane - a byproduct of the breakdown of methane. They didnt find the lakes and oceans of ethane they were expecting, but now they have found a large cloud of ethane above Titans southern pole. Its possible that this cloud rains down ethane in the summer, and then condenses around the pole in the winter, accumulating as ice.

Rings Behind Saturn

In this Cassini photograph, Saturns B and C rings pass behind the Ringed Planet. Right at the point where they meet Saturns upper atmosphere, they appear to bend slightly. This is caused by refraction, as the light from the rings is bent as it passes through the atmosphere. Cassini took this photo on August 16, 2006 when it was 256,000 kilometers (159,000 miles) from Saturn.

Prometheus Twists Saturns Rings

This photograph of Saturns rings shows the effect of a moons gravity. The leftmost ring is Saturns F ring, which is very bright in appearance, and is constantly changing. This is because Saturns moon Prometheus makes its way through the ring, distorting the ice particles with its gravity. Cassini took this photo on July 26, 2006 when it was 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn.

Crater Melanthius on Tethys

Cassini took this photograph of the 245-km (150-mile) crater Melanthius on the surface of Saturns moon Tethys. The central mountains at the heart of Melanthius are left over from when the crater first formed millions of years ago. Cassini took the photo on July 23, 2006 when it was 120,000 kilometers (75,000 miles) from Tethys.

Rings Lit by Saturns Shine

This is a view looking down onto the unlit side of Saturns rings, lit only by the reflected light from the planet. There are also two small moons in the image: Atlas and Pandora. Cassini took this photo on July 25, 2006 when it was approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn.

Nothing But Rings

This photograph is a close-up view of Saturns A ring taken by Cassini. Look closely and youll see that the dark regions appear to widen and then narrow, and the thin bright regions disappear altogether. Cassini took this image on July 23, 2006 when it was 285,000 kilometers (177,000 miles) from Saturn.

Rigel Passes Behind Saturn

NASAs Cassini spacecraft captured this image of the star Rigel passing behind Saturns atmosphere. Rigel is well known to astronomers, as one of the brightest stars in the constellation of Orion. This event allows Cassini to measure the haze structure and opacity of Saturns upper atmosphere as the star is dimmed. Cassini took this image on June 30, 2004 when it was 446,000 kilometers (277,000 miles) from Saturn.

Enceladus Occults Rhea

NASAs Cassini spacecraft captured this photograph of Saturns moon Rhea emerging from behind another of its moons, Enceladus. At 1,528 km (949 miles) across, Rhea is actually three times larger than Enceladus (505 km or 314 miles), but Cassini was much closer to Enceladus when it captured this occultation event on July 4, 2006.

False Colour View of Hyperion

This view of Saturns moon Hyperion has been given false colour enhancements to highlight its geologic features. Photographs in ultraviolet, green, and infrared were combined together on computer, and then superimposed over a clear-filter image to preserve brightness. Scientists dont fully understand why Hyperion has the variations, but it could be due to the size of the ice grains on its surface.

Saturns Ring Spokes are Back

Nope, thats not an error in the photograph. The ghostly white stripe in Saturns rings was captured by Cassini on July 23, 2006. This is the first time that Cassini has seen spokes in Saturns rings in nearly a year, and the first time from the sunlit side of the rings. Some scientists think the spokes might be caused by meteoroid impacts onto the rings. Others suggest theyre created by an instability in Saturns magnetic field.

Liquid Methane Drizzles Down on Titan

New research from NASA, published in the journal Nature suggests that its always raining on Titan. Not thunderstorms, but a low level liquid methane drizzle that never stops. When Huygens landed onto the surface of Titan, it came down with a splat, presumably into mud. Scientists estimate that the amount of rain amounts to about 5 cm (2 inches) a year of accumulation - the same amount that falls in Death Valley on Earth. But this rain falls steadily, keeping the ground relatively damp.

Huygens Data Used to Measure Titans Pebbles

When ESAs Huygens probe landed on the surface of Saturns moon Titan last year, it continued to transmit data for 71 minutes. The signal relayed through Cassini had a strange fluctuation in power as the angle between the lander and spacecraft changed. Researchers were able to reproduce this power oscillation when they realized that the signal was bouncing off of pebbles on Titans surface. They were able calculate that the surface around Huygens is mostly flat, but littered with 5-10 cm (2-4 inch) rocks.

Earthlike Regions on Titan

New radar images of Titan show surprisingly familiar terrain on Saturns largest moon. The radar images show a strip 4,500 km (2,796 miles) long, straight through the Xanadu region. Some images show hills, valleys and dark sand dunes cut by river networks - the similarity to Earth is striking. Of course, Titan is so cold it cant be water; these rivers are probably formed by liquid methane or ethane. Cassini will return to Titan on Saturday, July 22 and capture images of the northern latitudes.

Rhea Obcures Titan

In this photograph, Saturns moon Titan is partly obscured by smaller moon Rhea. The difference between the moonss atmosphere is quite pronounced, as Titan has a thick smoggy atmosphere, while Rhea is airless. Cassini took this photograph on June 11, 2006 when it was approximately 3.6 million kilometers (2.2 million miles) from Rhea.

One Moon in Light, One in Dark

This Cassini image shows Saturns shadowy side, its rings, and two of its moons: Mimas and Enceladus. Mimas is on the left, and shows its dark side, while Enceladus is on the far side of the rings, closer to Saturn, and is illuminated by the reflected sunlight from Saturns bright side. Cassini took this photo on June 11, 2006 when it was 3.9 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Mimas.

Epimetheus in Saturns Glare

Look at this photograph very carefully. Just below Saturns rings, to the left of the bright side of the planet is its tiny moon Epimetheus (116 km or 72 miles across). This moon hugs the outside edge of Saturns F ring, beyond the orbit of Pandora. Cassini took this photograph on June 9, when it was approximately 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Epimetheus.

Spray of Ice from Enceladus

This Cassini photograph shows Saturns moon Enceladus spraying water ice from its southern pole. And if you look carefully, you can also see Rheas southern pole just peeking out from below Saturns rings. Cassini took this photograph on June 9, 2006 when it was approximately 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Enceladus.

Secrets Revealed in Saturns Faintest Rings

New photos of Saturns E ring shows how it has a similar double-banded structure to Jupiters ring. Thanks to data gathered by Cassini, scientists now believe that the E ring particles originate from water geysers on Saturns moon Enceladus. The double-banded appearance occurs because there are actually less particles at the ring plane than there are above and below it. Scientists believe the double structure is created by the trajectory of particles ejected from Enceladus, or through ongoing interactions between the moon and the ring.

The Mysteries of Enceladus

NASAs Cassini spacecraft has been on the hunt for atomic oxygen since it arrived at Saturn. The source turned out to be a thin atmosphere of water vapour surrounding Saturns moon Enceladus. Cassini flew past the mysterious moon in July 2005, skimming within 175 kilometres (109) of the surface. It discovered that large dark cracks around its southern pole were warm and spewing out water vapour and ice particles. Cassini is due for a second look in 2008 when it will make another close flyby.

Ring of Light Around Titan

Titan glows with a ring of sunlight in this photograph. The picture was taken by NASAs Cassini spacecraft when Titan was lit almost completely from behind, and it shows how the light scatters through its thick atmosphere. Cassini took this photo on June 2, 2006 when it was approximately 2.3 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Titan.

Cassinis Mission is Half Over

NASAs Cassini spacecraft will reach the half-way point of its 4 year mission on Friday - it arrived at Saturn on June 20, 2004. Although the spacecraft has already visited Titan 15 times, itll pick up the pace for the remainder of its mission, performing another 30 flybys. Starting in July, mission controllers will begin altering Cassinis orbit with respect to the Sun by nearly 180-degrees. This will give it a birds eye view of Saturns ring system.

Saturns Tiny Moon Polydeuces

Were accustomed to seeing photographs of Saturns larger moons, like Titan, Dione and Enceladus. Heres an image of one of its smallest: newly discovered Polydeuces. This moon is only 3 km (2 miles) across, and shares the same orbit as much larger Dione. Cassini took this photo on May 22, 2006 when it was approximately 73,000 kilometers (45,000 miles) away.

Enceladus and Janus

This photograph, captured by NASAs Cassini spacecraft shows Saturns moons Enceladus and Janus. Also visible is Saturns F ring, including the bright core which is about 50 km wide, and contains many features of its own. Cassini took this photograph on May 21, 2006 when it was approximately 565,000 kilometers (351,000 miles) from Janus and 702,000 kilometers (436,000 miles) from Enceladus.

Enceladus Passes Before Titan

This natural colour photograph from Cassini shows Saturns moon Enceladus passing in front of Titan. With this colour view, its easy to see how different these two moons are. Titan has its golden, smoggy atmosphere, while Enceladus is mostly gray, darkened ice. Cassini took this image on February 5, 2006 when it was 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Enceladus.

Dione Passes in Front of Rhea

This photograph, captured by NASAs Cassini spacecraft, shows Saturns moon Dione crossing the face of Rhea. Dione is on the right, and its about two-thirds the size of Rhea, and it has a much smoother surface, suggesting it has been modified more recently. The image was taken on May 14, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Dione.

Crescent Moon Dione

This photograph shows Saturns moon Dione as a thin crescent beneath the luminous F ring. The image shows the dark side of the rings, so theyre not illuminated directly by the Sun. Cassini took this photo on May 3, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Dione.

Gas Giants Gobbled Up Most of Their Moons

Even though our Solar Systems gas giants vary widely in size and mass, they do have something in common. Each planet is roughly 10,000 times more massive than the combined mass of all their moons. During planetary formation, rocky moons grew out of the solid material surrounding each planet. As these moons grew larger, leftover gas slowed them down, and they fell into the planet to be consumed. The moons we see today were the last ones to form around their parent planets, after the gas had dissipated.

Strange Cloud Features on Saturn

This close up view of Saturn shows an unusual feature in its atmosphere. It appears as if part of one belt is crossing over into another. Another possibility is that its just an illusion created by different layers of clouds. Cassini took this photograph on May 12, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn.

Icy Tail on Enceladus

A plume of water ice is seen streaming off the southern pole of Saturns moon Enceladus in this photograph. Cassini used very long exposure to capture the wispy stream of vapour, so everything else in the image is overexposed. Cassini took the photograph on May 4, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Enceladus.

Titan Behind Saturn and the Rings

This photograph shows Titan partly obscured behind Saturn and its rings. The image was taken from above the ringplane, and shows the side of the planet unlit by the Sun. Cassini captured this view on May 10, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn.