Astronomy Posters
Cassini-Saturn Spacecraft

Cassini-Saturn Spacecraft

Images form the Cassini-Saturn Spacecraft.

A photo from the Cassini spacecraft. Saturn and its visible rings are shown in this high polar portrait. The low-angle illumnation shows the fine structure in the rings.
POLAR SATURN 		An amazing PHOTOGRAPH from the Cassini spacecraft, in a polar orbit around Saturn and its moons. Dr. Carolyn Porco, the imaging team leader, had to fight the suits for the opportunity, but as the acknowledged authority on planetary rings, she knew that backlighting the rings would reveal fine and gossamer structures never before seen. The Sun can be seen at about 7:00 on the globe, with the outer atmosphere outlining the orb of Saturn. The extended ring system, with fog-sized particles of dust and water ice are clearly seen. Also the EARTH, a billion miles away is at 10:00 just outside the brightest rings.
Saturnian Eclipse 		A photo from the Cassini spacecraft. Hyperion, an outer moon of Saturn, appears like a sponge or piece of coral, with deep, sharp-edged craters. Shaped like a thick hamburger, it is the only moon in the solar system which tumbles in its orbit, and isn't gravitationally locked by its parent planet.
Hyperion