Myriad dark vortices, some large and some small, twirl in the high southern latitudes of Saturn. At left, the south polar vortex spins at the center of it all.

This view looks toward the planet's southern hemisphere from about 47 degrees below the equator. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 23, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 468,000 kilometers (291,000 miles)

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA10439: Dance of the Clouds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05981: Saturn from Far and Near

The top image is a view from NASA's Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope taken on March 22, 2004. Camera exposures in four filters (blue, blue-green, green and red) were combined to form the Hubble image and render colors similar to what the eye would see through a telescope focused on Saturn. The subtle pastel colors of ammonia-methane clouds trace a variety of atmospheric dynamics. Saturn displays its familiar banded structure, with haze and clouds at various altitudes. Like Jupiter, all bands are parallel to Saturn's equator. The magnificent rings, at nearly their maximum tilt toward Earth, show subtle hues which indicate the trace chemical differences in their icy composition.

To view the top image see PIA05982.

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft returned the bottom image of Saturn on May 16, 2004, when its imaging science subsystem narrow-angle camera was too close to fit the entire planet in its field-of-view. Cassini is still about 20 million kilometers (12.4 million miles) away and only 36 days from reaching Saturn. Cassini has two cameras, a wide angle and narrow angle. This narrow angle image was made using a combination of three filters (red, green, blue) and was taken at a range of 24.3 million kilometers (15.1 million miles). The view is from 13 degrees below the equator. Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 31 known moons, appears near the south pole at the bottom of the image.

To view the bottom image see PIA05983.

The color differences between the Hubble and Cassini images are mainly due to the different sets of filters used.

Voir l'image PIA05981: Saturn from Far and Near sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10217: Saturn's North Pole Hot Spot and Hexagon

This image shows the unexpected "hot spot" at Saturn's north pole. Scientists were surprised to find that the north pole, despite being in winter darkness for more than a decade, is home to a hot, cyclonic vortex very similar to that found on Saturn's much sunnier south pole.

Created with data from the Cassini spacecraft's composite infrared spectrometer, this image, centered on the north pole, shows temperatures in Saturn's northern hemisphere near its 100-millibar tropopause, the top of its convective layer.

The false color denotes temperatures from 72 to 84 Kelvin (about 330 to 310 degrees below zero Fahrenheit). Latitudes are displayed from 30 degrees N at the edges to the north pole in the center. The hot pole is clear at the center of the projection. The distinctive polar hexagon is also evident in the initial warm "ring" around the pole between 75 and 80 degrees North latitude.

Although there is a similar hot pole in the southern hemisphere, there is no hexagon and the atmosphere is otherwise much warmer than in the north, having been heated during Saturn's southern summer for over a decade.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The composite infrared spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The composite infrared spectrometer team homepage is http://cirs.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Voir l'image PIA10217: Saturn's North Pole Hot Spot and Hexagon sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06568: Swirls in the South

The turbulent boundaries between dark belts and bright zones are seen prominently in this processed image of Saturn's southern atmosphere. Disturbed boundaries between these cloud bands are due to wind shear and density differences between adjacent bands.

The planet appears more bland in natural color images, but this infrared view uncovers far more detail.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Dec. 14, 2004, at a distance of approximately 614,000 kilometers (382,000 miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The image scale is 37 kilometers (23 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06568: Swirls in the South sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10442: Limb Scan

This bizarre scene shows the cloud-streaked limb of Saturn in front of the planet's B ring. The ring's image is warped near the limb by the diffuse gas in Saturn's upper atmosphere.

For additional examples of this effect, see PIA09810, PIA07521 and PIA06656.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 31 degrees below the ringplane. North on Saturn is up.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 24, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 657,000 kilometers (408,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 4 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

PIA05401: Two Pairs of Storms

PIA06514: Shredding a Cloud

This close-up of Saturn's atmosphere shows turbulent activity on the ragged edge of the equatorial cloud band. The turbulence is a direct result of internal heat from the planet and absorbed sunlight, and is generally lower in Saturn's bland atmosphere than in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Earth. The lower level of turbulence on Saturn may account for its higher wind speeds, compared to Jupiter and Earth.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 25, 2004, at a distance of 7.7 million kilometers (4.8 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 92 kilometers (57 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06514: Shredding a Cloud sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08131: Accented Vortex

This interesting vortex in Saturn's atmosphere is surrounded by a halo of bright clouds that extend away toward the east and west. Storms like this one seem to be bright at all wavelengths at which Cassini observes them.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 24, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08131: Accented Vortex sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01269: Hubble Provides Clear Images of Saturn's Aurora

This is the first image of Saturn's ultraviolet aurora taken by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope in October 1997, when Saturn was a distance of 810 million miles (1.3 billion kilometers) from Earth. The new instrument, used as a camera, provides more than ten times the sensitivity of previous Hubble instruments in the ultraviolet. STIS images reveal exquisite detail never before seen in the spectacular auroral curtains of light that encircle Saturn's north and south poles and rise more than a thousand miles above the cloud tops.

Saturn's auroral displays are caused by an energetic wind from the Sun that sweeps over the planet, much like the Earths aurora that is occasionally seen in the nighttime sky and similar to the phenomenon that causes fluorescent lamps to glow. But unlike the Earth, Saturn's aurora is only seen in ultraviolet light that is invisible from the Earths surface, hence the aurora can only be observed from space. New Hubble images reveal ripples and overall patterns that evolve slowly, appearing generally fixed in our view and independent of planet rotation. At the same time, the curtains show local brightening that often follow the rotation of the planet and exhibit rapid variations on time scales of minutes. These variations and regularities indicate that the aurora is primarily shaped and powered by a continual tug-of-war between Saturn's magnetic field and the flow of charged particles from the Sun.

Study of the aurora on Saturn had its beginnings just seventeen years ago. The Pioneer 11 spacecraft observed a far-ultraviolet brightening on Saturn's poles in 1979. The Saturn flybys of the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in the early 1980s provided a basic description of the aurora and mapped for the first time planets enormous magnetic field that guides energetic electrons into the atmosphere near the north and south poles.

The first images of Saturn's aurora were provided in 1994-5 by the Hubble Space Telescopes Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC2). Much greater ultraviolet sensitivity of the new STIS instrument allows the workings of Saturn's magnetosphere and upper atmosphere to be studied in much greater detail. These Hubble aurora investigations provide a framework that will ultimately complement the in situ measurements of Saturn's magnetic field and charged particles by NASA/ ESA's Cassini spacecraft, now en route to its rendezvous with Saturn early in the next decade.

Two STIS imaging modes have been used to discriminate between ultraviolet emissions predominantly from hydrogen atoms (shown in red) and emissions due to molecular hydrogen (shown in blue). Hence the bright red aurora features are dominated by atomic hydrogen, while the white traces within them map the more tightly confined regions of molecular hydrogen emissions. The southern aurora is seen at lower right, the northern at upper left.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01269: Hubble Provides Clear Images of Saturn's Aurora sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06493: Saturnian Hurricane

This close-up view shows lots of atmospheric detail, including a dark storm and wisps of clouds. The dark spot is noticeably lighter around its perimeter than in its interior.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 10, 2004, at a distance of 8.8 million kilometers (5.5 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 52 kilometers (32 miles) per pixel. The image has been contrast enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06493: Saturnian Hurricane sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08370: At a Tilt

Colorful Saturn tilts its darkened ringplane toward Cassini. Against the dark sky, the rings are made visible by the light that scatters through them toward the camera.

The F ring shepherd moon Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) is faintly visible at the top, left of center. Pandora's brightness was increased by a factor of three to aid its visibility.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 18 degrees above the ringplane. The planet is visible through the innermost and outermost portions of the rings.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained by the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 13, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 108 kilometers (67 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08370: At a Tilt sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07663: A Dark Duo

Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across, at right) and Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across, at left) are lit here by reflected "greylight" from Saturn. The Sun brightens only thin slivers of the moons' surfaces.

A few large craters on Janus are visible in the dim light of Saturn.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 29, 2005 a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from both moons. Resolution in the original image was 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and contrast-enhanced to aid visibility.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07663: A Dark Duo sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01963: Large brown spot in Saturn's atmosphere

PIA09009: Flowing Gracefully

The Cassini spacecraft spies smooth, sometimes wavy, contours in the banded east-west flowing clouds of Saturn. This view shows clouds in Saturn's northern mid-latitudes.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The view was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 8, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 34 kilometers (21 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09009: Flowing Gracefully sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09187: Spinning Saturn

This nighttime movie of the depths of the north pole of Saturn taken by the visual infrared mapping spectrometer onboard NASA's Cassini Orbiter reveals a dynamic, active planet lurking underneath the ubiquitous cover of upper-level hazes. The defining feature of Saturn's north polar regions -- the six-sided hexagon feature -- is clearly visible in the image.

Here, brightness indicates the amount of 5-micron (seven times the wavelength visible to the human eye) radiation, or heat, generated in the depths of the warm interior of Saturn that escapes the planet. Clouds at a depth equivalent to 3-Earth-atmospheres pressure block the light radiating from below, revealing themselves in dark silhouette against the background thermal glow of the planet. These deep clouds lie some 75 kilometers (47 miles) underneath the typical ammonia hazes and clouds seen in visual imagery and are likely composed of ammonia-hydrosulfide, although some may be composed of water, as on Earth. A prominent feature seen in this polar view is a strange hexagon wave feature circumscribing the north pole.

This nighttime movie was acquired over a one-hour period on Nov. 10, 2006, from an average distance of 1.03 million kilometers (621,000 miles) above Saturn's clouds.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, where this image was produced.

Voir l'image PIA09187: Spinning Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06494: Light and Dark Bands

Saturn's southern hemisphere boasts a great deal of fine detail in the turbulent boundaries between the atmospheric bands in this Cassini image. Note the faint bright spot in the band north of the dark polar region.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 3, 2004, at a distance of 9 million kilometers (5.6 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 53 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06494: Light and Dark Bands sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08873: Round Vortex

PIA05408: Mid-Latitude Storms

Cassini continues its vigil as Saturn's atmosphere churns and morphs through time. Four large, dark spots, or storms, form a symmetrical pattern in the mid-southern latitudes as these features squeeze past each other. Further observations will show whether these storms merge or spawn new spots of their own. North of the features, some latitudinal bands exhibit a bumpy or scalloped pattern, probably indicative of planet-scale wave motions in the atmosphere.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft's narrow angle camera on May 15, 2004, from a distance of 24.7 million kilometers (15.3 million miles) from Saturn through a filter centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 147 kilometers (91 miles) per pixel. Contrast in the image enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05408: Mid-Latitude Storms sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09778: Monitoring the Maelstrom

Clouds and vortices churn in this beautiful, close-up view of Saturn. This image is part of a series of important Cassini observations designed to provide information about winds and convection on Saturn.

The view is centered on a region 44 degrees north of Saturn's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 7, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09778: Monitoring the Maelstrom sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10513: Wrapped in Ribbons

Long streamers of cloud encircle the south polar region of Saturn. Farther poleward, or toward lower left, faint, deeper atmospheric structures lurk beneath the haze.

This image was acquired from a vantage point 74 degrees south of the planet's equator.

The view was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 2, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 369,000 kilometers (229,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 19 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA10513: Wrapped in Ribbons sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10437: Dual Vortices

The Cassini spacecraft peers into the clouds of Saturn to spy dual whirling vortices. The view is centered on a region 33 degrees north of the planet's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 20, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (777,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

PIA08144: The Storm Continues

The Cassini spacecraft looks toward giant Saturn and its moon Tethys, while a large and powerful storm rages in the planet's southern hemisphere. The storm was observed by the Cassini spacecraft beginning in late Jan. 2006, and was at the time large and bright enough to be seen using modest-sized telescopes on Earth.

The fact that the storm stands out against the subtle banding of Saturn at visible wavelengths suggests that the storm's cloud tops are relatively high in the atmosphere.

Tethys is 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 18, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 162 kilometers (101 miles) per pixel on Saturn.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08144: The Storm Continues sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06470: Polar Stratosphere

This narrow angle ultraviolet image probes the high atmosphere above Saturn's south pole. A bright wedge near the lower-left limb falls in a latitude band which borders a darker latitude band a little closer to the pole. Viewing the limb of the planet in ultraviolet light allows researchers to sample the high part of the atmosphere (the stratosphere).

Scientists can discern from this image that the stratosphere in this latitude band is relatively pure hydrogen and helium and contains very little of the stratospheric haze which causes darkening closer to the pole.

The image was taken by the Cassini spacecraft on July 26, 2004, at a distance of 7.1 million kilometers (4.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 42 kilometers (26 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.govand the Cassini imaging team home page.

Voir l'image PIA06470: Polar Stratosphere sur le site de la NASA.

PIA03161: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 1999

Looming like a giant flying saucer in our outer solar system, Saturn puts on a show as the planet and its magnificent ring system nod majestically over the course of its 29-year journey around the Sun. A series of Hubble Space Telescope images, captured from 1996 to 2000, show Saturn's rings open up from just past edge-on to nearly fully open as it moves from autumn towards winter in its Northern Hemisphere (for the composite view of all images see PIA03156.

Saturn's equator is tilted relative to its orbit by 27 degrees, very similar to the 23-degree tilt of the Earth. As Saturn moves along its orbit, first one hemisphere, then the other is tilted towards the Sun. This cyclical change causes seasons on Saturn, just as the changing orientation of Earth's tilt causes seasons on our planet. The first image in this sequence, on the lower left, was taken soon after the autumnal equinox in Saturn's Northern Hemisphere (which is the same as the spring equinox in its Southern Hemisphere). By the final image in the sequence, on the upper right, the tilt is nearing its extreme, or winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere).

Astronomers are studying this set of images to investigate the detailed variations in the color and brightness of the rings. They hope to learn more about the rings' composition, how they were formed, and how long they might last. Saturn's rings are incredibly thin, with a thickness of only about 30 feet (10 meters). The rings are made of dusty water ice, in the form of boulder-sized and smaller chunks that gently collide with each other as they orbit around Saturn. Saturn's gravitational field constantly disrupts these ice chunks, keeping them spread out and preventing them from combining to form a moon. The rings, as shown here, have a slight pale reddish color due to the presence of organic material mixed with the water ice.

Saturn is about 75,000 miles (120,000 km) across, and is flattened at the poles because of its very rapid rotation. A day is only 10 hours long on Saturn. Strong winds account for the horizontal bands in the atmosphere of this giant gas planet. The delicate color variations in the clouds are due to smog in the upper atmosphere, produced when ultraviolet radiation from the Sun shines on methane gas. Deeper in the atmosphere, the visible clouds and gases merge gradually into hotter and denser gases, with no solid surface for visiting spacecraft to land on.

The Cassini/Huygens spacecraft, launched from Earth in 1997, is well on its way to the Saturn system. It will arrive in 2004 to land a probe on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and to orbit the planet for four years for a detailed study of the entire Saturn system.

These images of Saturn were taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 onboard Hubble.

Voir l'image PIA03161: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 1999 sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09828: Coming to Light

As seasons change on Saturn, and sunlight creeps farther north, the region surrounding the north pole is steadily coming to light.

This scene reveals many features in Saturn's dynamic and beautiful atmosphere, including a detail largely obscured from the imaging cameras until now. On the terminator at center right is part of the polar hexagon, which was previously observed by Cassini's Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) and Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS). These instruments used heat radiated from Saturn to observe the polar hexagon (rather than reflected sunlight, as is the case in this view). The hexagon was first imaged by the Voyager spacecraft more than 25 years ago.

The view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 38 degrees above the ringplane and is centered on a region 63 degrees north of the Saturnian equator. The image has been brightened to show details at high northern latitudes, where solar illumination is presently weak.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 2, 2008 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 752 and 705 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 930,000 kilometers (578,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 52 kilometers (32 miles) per pixel.

PIA09854: Shadowy Veil

Saturn's southern hemisphere is glimpsed through the gossamer veil of its rings. Ring shadows adorn the low northern latitudes.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 22 degrees above the ringplane. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 16, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (908,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 84 kilometers (52 miles) per pixel.

PIA01376: Voyager 2 image of Saturn

PIA06225: Saturn Through the Haze

Less than 20 minutes after Cassini's close approach to Titan on March 31, 2005, its cameras captured this view of Saturn through Titan's upper atmosphere. The northern part of Saturn's disk can be seen at the upper left; dark horizontal lines are shadows cast upon Saturn by its rings. Below this level, Titan's atmosphere is thick enough to obscure Saturn.

The diffuse bright regions of the image (below Saturn and at the right) are light being scattered by haze in the upper reaches of Titan's atmosphere.

This image is scientifically useful because it shows properties both of how Titan's haze transmits light (from the attenuation of light from Saturn) and of how the haze reflects light (from its brightness next to Saturn).

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera at a distance of 7,980 kilometers (4,960 miles) from Titan, when Saturn was about 1.3 million kilometers (808,000 miles) away. Image scale is about 320 meters (1,050 feet) per pixel on Titan.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06225: Saturn Through the Haze sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06644: Mimas and Dione

Saturn's moon Mimas poses with the larger moon Dione in this handsome portrait. The wispy fractured terrain of Dione's trailing side is visible here. Mimas is 397 kilometers (247 miles) across, while Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 18, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.6 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 15 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel on Mimas and 18 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel on Dione.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06644: Mimas and Dione sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07772: The Face of Beauty

Few sights in the solar system are more strikingly beautiful than softly hued Saturn embraced by the shadows of its stately rings.

The gas planet's subtle northward gradation from gold to azure is a striking visual effect that scientists don't fully understand. Current thinking says that it may be related to seasonal influences, tied to the cold temperatures in the northern (winter) hemisphere. Despite Cassini's revelations, Saturn remains a world of mystery.

Currently, the rings' shadows shield the mid-northern latitudes from the harshest of the sun's rays. As Saturn travels around the sun in its 29-year orbit, the shadows will narrow and head southward, eventually blanketing the opposite hemisphere.

Images taken with blue, green and red spectral filters were used to create this color view, which approximates the scene as it would appear to the human eye. The view was brightened to enhance detail visible in the rings and within their shadows.

The images were obtained with the Cassini wide-angle camera from a distance of approximately 999,000 kilometers (621,000 miles) from Saturn on May 4, 2005, as the spacecraft cruised a few degrees above the ring plane. The image scale is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) per pixel on Saturn.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07772: The Face of Beauty sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07656: Storm Down Under

An oval-shaped feature, wider than Earth and with streamers extending out to the east and west, swirls in Saturn's southern hemisphere. Like the rainbands of a Southern Hemisphere hurricane on Earth, the streamers spiral into the feature in a clockwise direction. Unlike Earth's hurricanes, this storm probably contains no liquid water.

The planet's equatorial rings cut across the top of the image.

The image was taken in wavelengths of polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 30, 2005, at a distance of approximately 324,000 kilometers (202,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 32 kilometers (20 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07656: Storm Down Under sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08890: Cosmic Contrast

PIA07590: Three Views of Saturn (Animation)

Quick Time Movie for PIA07590
Three Views of Saturn Animation

This unique movie, showing Saturn's rotation in three different spectral filters, demonstrates Cassini's ability to probe various levels within the planet's outer cloud layers.

From left to right, the three panes show the atmosphere at infrared wavelengths 752, 728 and 890 nanometers. The filter used at the left is seeing the "deep cloud" layer, which has more features than any other Cassini view. The filter at the right shows the highest altitude cloud layers.

Cassini's powerful cameras reveal atmospheric processes beneath the layer visible to the human eye, but these views show only the thinnest outer skin of the planet, whose radius is about 60,000 kilometers (37,000 miles). The altitude difference between the left and right panels is estimated to be in the range of 30 to 100 kilometers (20 to 60 miles).

Although the left and center panels sample wavelengths that are relatively close together, the different morphology seen in these panels shows that the two filters are sampling different heights.

The movie covers a period of about 95 minutes and consists of 31 images in each of the three panes. One Saturn rotation is about 10.7 hours long (determined by the rotation of the planet's magnetic field).

The movie has been compressed to decrease the overall file size, and as a result, some small artifacts are present. However, all of the large-scale features visible here are real.

Cassini captured the images comprising this movie with its wide angle camera on June 21, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles). The image scale is about 125 kilometers (78 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07590: Three Views of Saturn (Animation) sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06477: Southern Storms and Streaks

The region near Saturn's south pole shows a great deal of fascinating detail in this view from Cassini. Near upper right, an oval-shaped storm is bordered to the north and south by bright streaks of cloud, and two dark storms hover in a brighter cloud lane near the center.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Aug. 7, 2004, at a distance of 8.4 million kilometers (5.2 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 50 kilometers (31 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06477: Southern Storms and Streaks sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01956: Voyager 2 image of Saturn

PIA01378: Saturn's ribbonlike cloud structure

PIA10553: Stormy Pole

Saturn's north pole is littered with storms, as we see in this color view of the pole. A bit of the north polar hexagon is also visible at the upper-right.

Cassini scientists are looking forward to sunrise on this pole next year so that they can better study it in visible light.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this full color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Nov. 16, 2008 at a distance of approximately 673,000 kilometers (418,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 71 degrees. Image scale is 37 kilometers (23 miles) per pixel.

PIA06479: Catching Saturn's Waves

PIA01958: Saturn's northern mid-latitudes

PIA08213: The Golden Giant

Cassini takes in a wide-angle view of majestic, golden-hued Saturn ... home to our robotic spacecraft for two years now. The ringplane cuts across the center of Saturn's crescent which wears shadows cast by the icy rings.

The planet's now familiar blue and pink hues generally are more subtle in high-phase views from the Cassini wide-angle camera. "Phase" refers to the angle formed between the Sun, the planet and the spacecraft.

The view is a composite of two sets of color images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters. The images were combined to create a color view that approximates the scene as it might appear to human eyes.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 24, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (824,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 139 degrees. Image scale is 76 kilometers (47 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08213: The Golden Giant sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05434: Active Atmosphere

Saturn's atmosphere displays elegant structural detail in this image of the southern polar region. Swirls, fingers of clouds and three subtle brighter spots are visible here as they race around the planet. A dark spot surrounded by concentric rings marks the south pole.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 13, 2004, from a distance of 5.1 million kilometers (3.2 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 30 kilometers (19 miles) per pixel. Contrast has been enhanced slightly to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05434: Active Atmosphere sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07599: Saturnian Meteorology

There is much to examine in detailed close-ups like this one of Saturn's atmosphere. Scientists are particularly interested in the bright, and in some places turbulent-looking, thin boundary between the large-scale features in the upper half of the image. The characteristic features of this thin boundary might be suggestive of a place where convection is occurring. Convection in Saturn's atmosphere occurs when sufficiently warm air at deeper levels rises to levels where it becomes less dense than the surrounding air.

Coverage on Saturn extends here from 18 degrees south to 50 degrees south latitude. Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid the visibility of atmospheric features.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 19, 2005, at a distance of approximately 487,000 kilometers (302,000 miles) from Saturn using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The image scale is 25 kilometers (16 miles) per pixel.

Cassini pans across a landscape shaped by eons of impacts, revealing the dark-floored craters at high resolution. The trip to Hyperion ends as the movie pans away from the battered moon's darkened limb. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07599: Saturnian Meteorology sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06631: Moons off the Port Bow

Three of Saturn's moons crowd together off the left edge, or ansa, of Saturn's rings.

Moons visible in this image: Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across), largest, near the center; Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across), smaller, beneath center; and Helene (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across), faintly visible above and to the right of Rhea. The brightness of Helene has been increased by a factor of 10 to aid visibility.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 7, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (799,000 miles) from Saturn and using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to polarized infrared light centered at 1,001 nanometers (1.001 microns). The image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06631: Moons off the Port Bow sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09792: Shadow Spot

The Cassini spacecraft gazes into the blustery, ever changing atmosphere of Saturn as the tiny shadow of Epimetheus drifts across the cloud tops.

The view looks toward a region in Saturn's atmosphere 24 degrees north of the planet's equator. Epimetheus is 116 kilometers (72 miles) across and orbits about 151,400 kilometers (94,100 miles) from the planet.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 7, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

PIA05394: Rings and Shadows

PIA05385: Spots on Saturn

As Cassini closes in on Saturn, its view is growing sharper with time and now reveals new atmospheric features in the planet's southern hemisphere.

Atmospheric features, such as two small, faint dark spots, visible in the planet's southern hemisphere, will become clearer in the coming months. The spots are located at 38 degrees south latitude.

The spacecraft's narrow angle camera took several exposures on March 8, 2004, which have been combined to create this natural color image. The image contrast and colors have been slightly enhanced to aid visibility.

Moons visible in the lower half of this image are: Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) at left, just below the rings; Dione (1,118 kilometers, or 695 miles across) at left, below Mimas; and Enceladus (499 kilometers, 310 miles across) at right. The moons had their brightness enhanced to aid visibility.

The spacecraft was then 56.4 million kilometers (35 million miles) from Saturn, or slightly more than one-third of the distance from Earth to the Sun. The image scale is approximately 338 kilometers (210 miles) per pixel. The planet is 23 percent larger in this image than it appeared in the preceding color image, taken four weeks earlier.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05385: Spots on Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09837: Above the Storms

Great circular vortices churn through Saturn's northern skies. The planet wears the shadow of its rings as a dark belt.

Just above that belt is the shadow of 181-kilometer (113-mile) wide Janus.

This view was acquired from 38 degrees above the Saturn's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 13, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (746,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 68 kilometers (42 miles) per pixel.

PIA01464: Hubble Observes a New Saturn Storm

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the ringed planet Saturn shows a rare storm that appears as a white arrowhead-shaped feature near the planet's equator. The storm is generated by an upwelling of warmer air, similar to a terrestrial thunderhead. The east-west extent of this storm is equal to the diameter of the Earth (about 7,900 miles). Hubble provides new details about the effects of Saturn's prevailing winds on the storm. The new image shows that the storm's motion and size have changed little since its discovery in September, 1994.

The storm was imaged with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) in the wide field mode on December 1, 1994, when Saturn was 904 million miles from the Earth. The picture is a composite of images taken through different color filters within a 6 minute interval to create a "true-color" rendition of the planet. The blue fringe on the right limb of the planet is an artifact of image processing used to compensate for the rotation of the planet between exposures.

The Hubble images are sharp enough to reveal that Saturn's prevailing winds shape a dark "wedge" that eats into the western (left) side of the bright central cloud. The planet's strongest eastward winds (clocked at 1,000 miles per hour from analysis of Voyager spacecraft images taken in 1980-81) are at the latitude of the wedge.

To the north of this arrowhead-shaped feature, the winds decrease so that the storm center is moving eastward relative to the local flow. The clouds expanding north of the storm are swept westward by the winds at higher latitudes. The strong winds near the latitude of the dark wedge blow over the northern part of the storm, creating a secondary disturbance that generates the faint white clouds to the east (right) of the storm center.

The storm's white clouds are ammonia ice crystals that form when an upward flow of warmer gases shoves its way through Saturn's frigid cloud tops. This current storm is larger than the white clouds associated with minor storms that have been reported more frequently as bright cloud features.

Hubble observed a similar, though larger, storm in September 1990, which was one of three major Saturn storms seen over the past two centuries. Although these events were separated by about 57 years (approximately 2 Saturnian years) there is yet no explanation why they apparently follow a cycle -- occurring when it is summer in Saturn's northern hemisphere.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01464: Hubble Observes a New Saturn Storm sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07588: Vortex Variety

The latitude bands and swirling storms of Saturn, always intriguing to scientists, often are exquisitely beautiful as well. The turbulent atmosphere is dotted with storms; most are small, but some are much larger. The dark center of the dramatic beauty swirling near the south pole is easily 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 31, 2005, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 752 nanometers at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 78 kilometers (48 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07588: Vortex Variety sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07525: Aligned Moons

Cassini looks toward Saturn's night side in this view, capturing a glimpse of Dione's tortured surface in the foreground and a far-off view of Epimetheus beyond Saturn. The spacecraft was just a tenth of a degree above the ringplane when this image was taken.

Parts of Dione's surface have been stretched and ripped apart by tectonic forces. Some of these faults are visible here, as is a large impact basin (not seen in NASA Voyager spacecraft images) near the moon's south pole. Although this crater's diameter has not yet been measured by imaging scientists, it appears to be wider than 250 kilometers (155 miles), which would make it the largest impact structure yet identified on this moon. Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across.

Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) presents a similar face here to that revealed in a spectacular false-color view from March, 2005 (see PIA06226).

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 910,000 kilometers (570,000 miles) from Dione, 1.28 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Epimetheus and 1.42 million kilometers (880,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel on Dione and 9 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel on Epimetheus.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07525: Aligned Moons sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08822: On High

From its unique perspective high above the planet, the Cassini spacecraft looks down upon Saturn's murky northern hemisphere. The bluish hues seen in some Cassini views of Saturn's north are notably absent in this viewing geometry.

The dark side of Saturn's extensive rings is just visible in the top half of the image.

The view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 44 degrees above the ringplane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 30, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 150 degrees. Image scale is 78 kilometers (49 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08822: On High sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09784: Planet in Repose

Shadow-draped Saturn rests on its side as two icy moons glide past.

Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) hangs against the planet's bright southern hemisphere. Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is a bright speck against the unlit side of the rings, near lower right.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 2 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 31, 2007 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 752 and 705 nanometers.

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 25 degrees. Image scale is 158 kilometers (98 miles) per pixel.

PIA08202: Pattern Upon Pattern

Saturn's restless clouds offer endless complexity, such as this small-scale repeating pattern upon which is superimposed a larger-scale wavelike modulation of the boundary between a bright zone and a darker belt. The pattern may result from density or wind discontinuities.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 11, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image was obtained using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. Image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08202: Pattern Upon Pattern sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05425: Saturn in Full View

Two weeks after orbit insertion, Cassini glanced back at Saturn, taking in the entire planet and its expansive rings. Currently it is summer in Saturn's southern hemisphere. Notable here is the bright spot located near the planet's southern hemisphere, where the line from the day and night side of the planet meets. The angle of illumination hints at Saturn's tilt relative to the Sun.

The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on July 13, 2004, from a distance of about 5 million kilometers (3.1 million miles) from Saturn. The Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase angle of this image is 95 degrees. The image scale is 299 kilometers (186 miles) per pixel. Contrast has been enhanced slightly to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05425: Saturn in Full View sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09755: Whirlwinds of Saturn

Incredible gales blow in Saturn's twisted atmosphere. Winds in this region of Saturn have been measured at greater than 360 kilometers (225 miles) per hour, faster than the most powerful hurricanes on Earth.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 17, 2007, using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 3.5 million kilometers (2.2 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 21 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09755: Whirlwinds of Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06627: G Ring, Brightened by Time

Cassini's ability to remain sharply pointed at its targets allowed this image of Saturn's faint, dusty G ring to be made. The thin streaks visible here are star trails, which are created during long exposures, when the spacecraft remains locked onto a target. The camera shutter was open for three-and-a-half minutes during this particular exposure. A long exposure was required to see details of this quite tenuous ring.

The feature inside the G ring, at upper right, is also a star trail.

The image was taken in polarized visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 7, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (750,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 10 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06627: G Ring, Brightened by Time sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06468: Probing Different Depths

These two images, taken at about the same time, demonstrate the amazing ability of Cassini's cameras to probe the different layers in Saturn's atmosphere.

While many basic details in the atmosphere are present in both images, a number of subtle details are different. Flecks of bright cloud and a few dark ovals can be seen in the image at left, while at right the contrast between the swirling light and dark bands is most apparent.

The image at left was obtained using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image at right is a view taken using a filter centered at 889 nanometers, where methane is most absorbing.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 24, 2004, at a distance of 6.9 million kilometers (4.3 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 41 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06468: Probing Different Depths sur le site de la NASA.

PIA04913: Looming Saturn

December 5, 2003

A cold, dusky Saturn looms in the distance in this striking, natural color view of the ringed planet and five of its icy satellites. This image was composed from exposures taken by Cassini's narrow angle camera on Nov. 9, 2003, from a distance of 111.4 million kilometers (69.2 million miles). That is about three-fourths the distance of Earth from the Sun and 235 days from reaching Saturn. The smallest features visible here are about 668 kilometers (415 miles) across - a marked improvement over the last Cassini Saturn image released on Nov. 1, 2002. New features such as intricate cloud patterns and small moons near the rings should become visible over the next several months as the spacecraft speeds toward its destination.

Some details within Saturn's massive ring system are already visible. Structure is evident in the B ring, the middle and brightest of Saturn's three main rings. The 4,800 kilometer (2,980 mile)-wide Cassini Division is the distinctive dark, central band that separates the outermost A ring from the brighter B ring. Interestingly, the outer edge of the B ring is maintained by a strong gravitational resonance with the moon Mimas, also visible in this image. The 325-kilometer (200 -mile) wide Encke gap in the A ring, near the outer edge of the ring system, is also visible, as is the fainter C ring, interior to the B ring.

Saturn's multi-banded, multi-hued atmosphere is also apparent at this distance. In the southern polar region, a dusky haze is visible, grayer than the light-brown at middle latitudes. Most of Saturn's northern hemisphere is in shadow of the rings, with the exception of a small sliver visible on the limb. Five Saturnian satellites can also be seen in this image. The brightness of these bodies has been increased three- to five-fold to enhance visibility. The satellites are, on the left, from brightest to faintest, Rhea, Dione, and Enceladus, and on the right, from brightest to faintest, Tethys and Mimas.

Cassini will enter Saturn orbit on July 1, 2004. For more information, see the Cassini Project home page at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

PIA09893: Beauty Marks

Two dark spots drift across the northern skies of Saturn. The shadows are cast by the moons Tethys and Mimas.

Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) orbits farther from Saturn than Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) and casts the larger of the two shadows here.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 46 degrees above the ringplane.The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 30, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (720,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 66 kilometers (41 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09893: Beauty Marks sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06593: Storm Factory?

Views like this one from Cassini are helping scientists unravel some of the mysteries of Saturn's complex atmosphere.

The turbulent, wavy pattern at the bottom of the image has the appearance of a region that may be spawning vortices, or swirling storms, in the planet's atmosphere. The bright chaotic region at the top appears to have strong vertical winds. To understand the nature of activity taking place in a region on Saturn, imaging scientists often compare views of the same region taken at different times.

This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Jan. 23, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06593: Storm Factory? sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07806: Rhea Transits Saturn

Click on the image for QuickTime Movie of
Rhea Transits Saturn

The slim crescent of the moon Rhea glides silently onto the featureless, golden face of Saturn in this mesmerizing color movie. In an interplay of contrast and shadow, the moon goes dark against the planet, and then its crescent suddenly brightens as it slips in front of Saturn's night side.

This view looks down onto the unlit side of Saturn's rings, which cast soft, linear shadows onto the planet's northern hemisphere.

The movie was created using 60 images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters over a period of about 45 minutes.

The images were acquired by the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 21, 2006, at a distance of approximately 221,000 kilometers (137,000 miles) from Rhea. The image scale is approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Note: this release was formerly entitled "Rhea Occults Saturn."

Voir l'image PIA07806: Rhea Transits Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06655: Waves on Saturn

PIA10414: Chasing Away the Blues

Golden hues continue to creep northward on Saturn, subduing the blues and grays the Cassini spacecraft witnessed upon arrival in mid-2004.

This view was acquired from about 27 degrees above the ringplane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 23, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (780,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 71 kilometers (44 miles) per pixel.

PIA07550: Bright Bands

Cassini's keen vision, with its variety of spectral filters, allows for revealing views of the eastward- and westward-flowing cloud bands that encircle the ringed giant, Saturn. This image was acquired using a spectral filter sensitive to infrared wavelengths where methane in the atmosphere is moderately absorbing. Saturn's bright equatorial band is the most prominent feature on the planet in this view.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 15, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 74 degrees. The image scale is 136 kilometers (84 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07550: Bright Bands sur le site de la NASA.

PIA02884: Distant Saturn Sighting

Saturn appears serene and majestic in the first color composite made of images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on its approach to the ringed planet, with arrival still 20 months away.

The planet was 285 million kilometers (177 million miles) away from the spacecraft, nearly twice the distance between the Sun and Earth, when Cassini took images of it in various filters as an engineering test on Oct. 21, 2002.

It is summer in Saturn's southern hemisphere. The Sun is a lofty 27 degrees below the equator and casts a semi-circular shadow of the planet on the rings. The shadow extends partway across the rings, leaving the outer A ring in sunlight. The last Saturn-bound spacecraft, Voyager 2, arrived in early northern spring. Many features seen in Voyager images -- spoke-like markings on the rings, clouds and eddies in the hazy atmosphere, ring-shepherding moons -- are not yet visible to Cassini.

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, appears in the upper left. It is the only moon resolved from this distance. This composite uses a threefold enhancement in the brightness of Titan relative to the brightness of Saturn. Titan is a major attraction for scientists of the Cassini-Huygens mission. They will study its haze-enshrouded atmosphere and peer down, with special instrumentation, to its surface to look for evidence of organic processes similar to those that might have occurred on the early Earth, prior to the emergence of life.

Cassini will enter orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. It will release a piggybacked probe, Huygens, which will descend through Titan's atmosphere on Jan. 14, 2005.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. Information about the mission is available online at http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.

Voir l'image PIA02884: Distant Saturn Sighting sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06461: Waves and Curls

An interesting curl in the boundary of a dark polar collar, an area where the bright and dark regions of the atmosphere meet, is visible in this view of Saturn's southern polar region.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 21, 2004, from a distance of 6.4 million kilometers (4 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 38 kilometers (24 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06461: Waves and Curls sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06594: Splendid Saturn

Cassini offers this lovely, crisp view of Saturn, which shows detail in the planet's banded atmosphere, as well as the delicate ring system.

The image has been rotated so that north on Saturn is up; the Sun illuminates Saturn from below. Saturn's tilt throws ghostly shadows of the rings onto the northern hemisphere during the current season.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Jan. 23, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image scale is 166 kilometers (103 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

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Voir l'image PIA06594: Splendid Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08160: Viewing Saturn from the Plane

This view of the ringed planet shows its tilt relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. The planet tilts nearly 27 degrees relative to the ecliptic plane, giving rise to seasons in which the rings shadow each hemisphere in its respective winter.

Most of the planetary bodies in the Solar System orbit near the plane of the ecliptic, since they formed along with the Sun from a spinning disk of gas and dust.

The high phase angle -- the Sun-Saturn-spacecraft viewing angle, which is 116 degrees here -- brings out cloud structure quite nicely.

The image was taken in polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 11, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 165 kilometers (103 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08160: Viewing Saturn from the Plane sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09720: Children of Saturn

PIA10413: Storms of the High North

Sinuous clouds and hurricane-sized vortices mingle in Saturn's northern skies.

This view looks toward a region located at 70 degrees north latitude on Saturn.

Despite the level of detail visible here, the region shown is wide enough to contain the planet Mars comfortably.

The image was taken with Cassini's CB1 spectral filter, which is sensitive to wavelengths of visible red light centered at 619 nanometers. The view was acquired with the spacecraft's narrow-angle camera on May 23, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (775,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

PIA08366: Orb of Ice

A serene orb of ice is set against the gentle pastel clouds of giant Saturn. Rhea transits the face of the gas giant, whose darkened rings and their planet-hugging shadows appear near upper right.

Rhea is the second largest of Saturn's moons at 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across. This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 3 degrees above the ring plane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The view was acquired with the wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2007. Cassini acquired the view at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn and 679,000 kilometers (422,000 miles) from Rhea. Image scale is 68 kilometers (42 miles) per pixel on Saturn and about 40 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel on Rhea.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08366: Orb of Ice sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08410: Hissing Storm

A bright, powerful, lightning-producing storm churns and coasts along the lane of Saturn's southern hemisphere nicknamed "Storm Alley" by scientists.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected this particular tempest after nearly two years during which Saturn did not appear to produce any large electrical storms of this kind. The storm appears as a bright, irregular splotch on the planet near lower right.

Lightning flashes within the persistent storm produce radio waves, called Saturn Electrostatic Discharges, which the Cassini radio and plasma wave science instrument first detected on Nov. 27, 2007. Cassini's imaging cameras then spotted the storm, taking the images used to create this color view about a week later on Dec. 6.

This electrical storm is similar in appearance and intensity to those previously monitored by Cassini. All of these powerful electrostatic producing storms appeared at about 35 degrees south latitude on Saturn. (See PIA07788, PIA08142 and PIA06197 for additional images of Saturn's electrical storms imaged by Cassini.)

This storm has now been continuously tracked by Cassini for several months, whereas previous storms observed by the spacecraft lasted for less than 30 days: See PIA08411 for images of the storm acquired three months after this view. The view looks toward the un-illuminated side of the rings from about 5 degrees above the ringplane. Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) is seen here in the foreground, and casts its shadow onto the high northern latitudes.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 97 kilometers (60 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org. The radio and plasma wave science instrument team home page is at http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/plasma-wave/cassini/home.html.

Voir l'image PIA08410: Hissing Storm sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07562: Saturn's Anti-Hurricanes

Vortices mingle amidst other turbulent motions in Saturn's atmosphere in these two comparison images. The image on the right was taken about two Saturn rotations after the image on the left.

Both views show latitudes from minus 23 degrees to minus 42 degrees. The region below center in these images (at minus 35 degrees) has seen regular storm activity since Cassini first approached Saturn in early 2004. Cassini investigations of the atmosphere from February to October 2004 showed that most of the oval-shaped storms in the latitude region near minus 35 degrees rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, with smaller storms occasionally merging into larger ones (see PIA06082 & PIA06083 for a movie of storm activity in this region).

On Earth, hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere rotate clockwise. Thus, the storms in these images of Saturn's southern latitudes could be called "anti-hurricanes." This backwards spiraling (compared to Earth) is common on the giant planets.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 4 and 5, 2005, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. During this time, Cassini's distance from Saturn was approximately 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles). The image scale is about 14 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .

Voir l'image PIA07562: Saturn's Anti-Hurricanes sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08155: Psychedelic Saturn

Streamers, swirls and vortices roll across the dynamic face of Saturn.

Unlike Earth, where most of the weather is driven by the Sun, Saturn's storms and circulation are driven in part by internal heating. Amazingly, the planet is still contracting (ever so slightly) from its formation, more than 4.5 billion years ago. This gravitational contraction liberates energy in the form of heat.

The image was taken in polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 7, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08155: Psychedelic Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06570: Feathery Belts and Zones

This is a highly detailed look at the feathery, wavelike patterns in the cloud bands of Saturn's southern hemisphere. Near the center, long filaments wrap around a swirling vortex. Notable is the extreme change in appearance at very high southern latitudes.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Dec. 14, 2004, at a distance of 595,000 kilometers (370,000 miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. It has been highly processed to enhance details. The image scale is about 32 kilometers (20 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06570: Feathery Belts and Zones sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08242: Flattened Crescent

Saturn's low density and fast rotation combine to give it its characteristic oblate shape. The dramatic crescent seen here demonstrates how the ringed planet is much wider at the equator than at the poles.

The rings disappear near center into the darkness of the planet's shadow.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 11, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163 degrees. Image scale is 169 kilometers (105 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08242: Flattened Crescent sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08184: Ring Moon, Ring Shadows

The small, dark form of Janus cruises along in front of bright Saturn. The edge-on rings cast dramatic shadows onto the northern hemisphere.

Janus is 181 kilometers (113 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 21, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel on Janus.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08184: Ring Moon, Ring Shadows sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08152: Strange Shape

This atmospheric close-up shows a bright, somewhat distorted feature in Saturn's southern hemisphere. This feature might be a transient eddy which formed and then collided with an obstacle (perhaps a vortex) in the zone of wind shear between two opposing east-west flowing jets. It could also simply indicate a place where two jets are interacting.

The image was taken in polarized green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 7, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08152: Strange Shape sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01383: Saturn and its satellites Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas

PIA01276: Hubble Views Saturn Ring-Plane Crossing

This sequence of images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope documents a rare astronomical alignment—Saturn's magnificent ring system turned edge-on. This occurs when the Earth passes through Saturn's ring plane, as it does approximately every 15 years.

These pictures were taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on 22 May 1995, when Saturn was at a distance of 919 million miles (1.5 billion kilometers) from Earth. At Saturn, Hubble can see details as small as 450 miles (725 km) across. In each image, the dark band across Saturn is the ring shadow cast by the Sun which is still 2.7 degrees above Saturn's ring plane. The box around the western portion of the rings (to the right of Saturn) in each image indicates the area in which the faint light from the rings has been multiplied through image processing (by a factor of 25) to make the rings more visible.

[Top] -

This image was taken while the Earth was above the lit face of the rings. The moons Tethys and Dione are visible to the east (left) of Saturn; Janus is the bright spot near the center of the ring portion in the box, and Pandora is faintly visible just inside the left edge of this box. Saturn's atmosphere shows remarkable detail: multiple banding in both the northern and southern hemispheres, wispy structure at the north edge of the equatorial zone, and a bright area above the ring shadow that is caused by sunlight scattered off the rings onto the atmosphere. There is evidence of a faint polar haze over the north pole of Saturn and a fainter haze over the south.

[Center] -

This image was taken close to the time of ring-plane crossing. The rings are 75% fainter than in the top image, though they do not disappear completely because the vertical face of the rings still reflects sunlight when the rings are edge-on. Rhea is visible to the east of Saturn, Enceladus is the bright satellite in the rings to the west, and Janus is the fainter blip to its right. Pandora is just to the left of Enceladus, but is not visible because Enceladus is too bright. An oval-shaped atmospheric feature has just rotated into view (near the eastern limb, at the northern edge of the equatorial zone), and appears to be a local circulation pattern that is not penetrated by the bright clouds that are deflected around it.

[Bottom] -

This image was taken approximately 96 minutes (one Hubble orbit) after the center image. The rings are 10% brighter than they were in that image. Rhea is visible just off the eastern limb of Saturn, and casts a shadow on the south face of Saturn. During this exposure, the Earth and Sun were on opposite sides of Saturn's ring plane (they remain in this configuration until 10 August 1995). The atmospheric circulation pattern has rotated to just past the center of the planet's disk, and is followed by more wispy structure in the bright band of clouds, reminiscent of the structure seen during the Saturn storm observed in 1990.

These images will be used to determine the time of ring-plane crossing and the thickness of the main rings and to search for as yet undiscovered satellites. Knowledge of the exact time of ring-plane crossing will lead to an improved determination of the rate at which Saturn "wobbles" about its axis (polar precession).

Technical Notes Each of these images is a 7-second exposure at 8922 Angstroms in a methane absorption band. North is up and east is to the left.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01276: Hubble Views Saturn Ring-Plane Crossing sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09018: Mimas in Transit

A lone moon hurtles past as the Cassini spacecraft stares into the clouds of Saturn.

Cassini monitored clouds near Saturn's equator for nearly 20 hours during an important series of observations designed to allow scientists to measure wind speeds and better understand convection in the giant planet's atmosphere.

Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) happened to wander across the field of view during these observations.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 28, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 36 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09018: Mimas in Transit sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07672: Deep Clouds

Twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter, Saturn's colder temperatures mean that clouds form lower in its atmosphere. As a result, the visible cloud patterns -- so striking on Jupiter -- occur deeper inside Saturn, reducing their visibility in natural color views.

This enhanced-color view uses exaggerated contrast and intensity in order to make Saturn's cloud bands easy to see. The latitude seen at the image center is approximately 60 degrees south of the equator.

Images taken in blue (BL2), green and red (CB1) polarized spectral filters were combined to create this enhanced-color view. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 7, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 36 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07672: Deep Clouds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06482: The Stormy South

PIA07789: Storm at Night (Reprojected View)

This image shows a rare and powerful storm on the night side of Saturn.

Light from Saturn's rings (called "ringshine") provided the illumination, allowing the storm and other cloud features to be seen.

The storm is a possible source of radio emissions believed to come from electrical discharges (lightning) deep in Saturn's atmosphere. Cassini began detecting the radio emissions, which are like those from lightning, on January 23. At about the same time, amateur astronomers reported that a storm had appeared in Saturn's southern hemisphere at minus 35 degrees latitude. Cassini was in the wrong place to take good images of the storm on the day side, since the planet showed only a thin crescent to the spacecraft, but night side imaging was possible using light from the rings.

The image shows the storm as it appeared to the Cassini imaging system on January 27, 2006. The storm's north-south dimension is about 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles); it is located at minus 36 degrees (planetocentric) latitude and 168 degrees west longitude. This places it on the side of the planet that faces the spacecraft when the radio emissions are detected; the radio emissions shut down for half a Saturnian day when the storm is on the other side.

This view was derived from an original Cassini image by reprojecting it as a cylindrical map and enhancing the contrast to bring out faint features. See PIA07788 for the original image.

No lightning flashes are visible in the image. They would look like medium-sized bright spots, since the light would spread out before it reaches the cloud tops. Non-detection does not mean that the lightning is absent, however. Lightning might be too faint to stand out above background or too deep to be seen through the thick clouds. Bad luck is another possibility: The camera might have missed the strong flashes during the 10 seconds that the shutter was open.

A narrow-cloud band crosses the storm from left to right. It is illuminated by the rings from the north and is brighter on that side. Cassini scientists are looking forward to an extensive night side image set, designed to look for lightning. That set will be collected during the first half of this year.

The view was obtained in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera at a distance of approximately 3.5 million kilometers (2.2 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale in the original image was 20 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07789: Storm at Night (Reprojected View) sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00025: Saturn - False Color of Southern Hemisphere

PIA07600: Flowing "Cat's Eye"

During its time in orbit, Cassini has spotted many beautiful cat's eye-shaped patterns like the ones visible here. These patterns occur in places where the winds and the atmospheric density at one latitude are different from those at another latitude.

The opposing east-west flowing cloud bands are the dominant patterns seen here and elsewhere in Saturn's atmosphere.

Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid the visibility of atmospheric features.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 20, 2005, at a distance of approximately 420,000 kilometers (261,000 miles) from Saturn using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image scale is 22 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07600: Flowing "Cat's Eye" sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06505: A Crisp View

This detailed view of Saturn's southern hemisphere shows clouds, storms and waves in the planet's many latitudinal bands.

The image was taken through a filter where methane gas has strong absorption. The cloud particles scatter light back toward the camera, but methane gas absorbs it, so only high clouds are visible in this image. Differences in cloud height are not resolvable; the impression of parallel ridges and troughs is an optical illusion brought about by the alternating light and dark bands.

Saturn's rings were overexposed in this long duration exposure and appear quite bright.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 12, 2004, at a distance of 8.7 million kilometers (5.4 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 103 kilometers (64 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06505: A Crisp View sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05410: Rings and Moons

Saturn's magnificent rings show some of their intricate structure in this image taken on May 11, 2004, by the Cassini spacecraft's narrow angle camera. Although they appear to be solid structures, the rings are composed of billions of individual particles, each one orbiting the planet on its own path.

Satellites visible in this image: Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) above the rings, and icy Enceladus (499 kilometers, or 310 miles across) below the rings. The F ring shepherd moons Prometheus and Pandora can be seen along Saturn's outermost F ring if the image is further contrast enhanced. The image was taken in visible light from a distance of 26.3 million kilometers (16.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 158 kilometers (98 miles) per pixel. Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05410: Rings and Moons sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06164: Cassini's Holiday Greetings

From its station nearly 1.2 billion kilometers (746 million miles) from Earth, the stalwart Cassini spacecraft sends holiday greetings to Earth with this lovely color portrait of Saturn and two of its moons.

The 2004 holiday season marks the close of a miraculous year that saw the end of Cassini's long journey across the solar system and the beginning of its adventures in orbit around Saturn. In a triumph of human achievement, the Cassini mission has already returned thousands of images and has begun to uncover the mysteries of the Saturn system. This color portrait serves as reminder of the Saturnian places we have already seen and the promise of future discovery at Titan when the European Space Agency's Huygens probe arrives at Titan on Jan. 14, 2005.

The image shows the majestic ringed planet, with bands of colorful clouds in its southern hemisphere. The planet's northern extremes have a cool bluish hue, due to scattering of blue wavelengths of sunlight by the cloud-free upper atmosphere there. Long shadows of the icy rings stretch across the north.

A grayish, oval-shaped storm is visible in Saturn's southern hemisphere and is easily 475 kilometers (295 miles) across - the size of some hurricanes on Earth.

Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is visible near lower right with its thick, orange-colored atmosphere, and faint Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) appears just right of the rings' outer edge.

Images taken in the red, green and blue filters with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Dec. 14, 2004, were combined to create this color view at a distance of approximately 719,000 kilometers (447,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 43 kilometers (27 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06164: Cassini's Holiday Greetings sur le site de la NASA.

PIA11104: Convection in Saturn's Southern Vortex

This detailed Cassini view of the monstrous vortex at Saturn's south pole provides valuable insight about the mechanisms that power the planet's atmosphere.

This view is 10 times more detailed than any previous image of the polar vortex. See PIA11103 for a more oblique, wide-angle view that provides context for this close-up.

Previous images revealed an outer ring of high clouds surrounding a region previously thought to be mostly clear air interspersed with a few puffy clouds that circulate around the center. This new image shows that what looked like puffy clouds at lower resolution are actually vigorous convective storms that form yet another distinct, inner ring. In other words, they are deep convective structures seen through the atmospheric haze. One of the deeper structures (at the 10 o'clock position) has punched through to a higher altitude and created its own little vortex. The ring is similar to the eyewall of a terrestrial hurricane, but much larger. The clear air there is warm, like the eye of a terrestrial hurricane, but on Saturn it is locked to the pole, whereas a terrestrial hurricane drifts around.

Convective structures are small regions of intense upwelling air, but the clear air of the vortex eye indicates that this is generally an area of downwelling. Convection is an important part of the planet's energy budget because the warm upwelling air carries heat from the interior. In a terrestrial hurricane, the convection occurs in the eyewall. Here it seems to occur in the eye as well. The camera filter used for this image captures light at wavelengths where atmospheric gases like methane are fairly transparent, allowing for detailed views of deep cloud features. Other filters (see PIA09859) use light that is strongly absorbed by methane gas; the light bounces off the high clouds, making them visible, but gets absorbed before it reaches the low clouds. Such "methane-band" images of the south polar vortex reveal that the convective clouds do not reach up to the base of the stratosphere, as convective clouds on Earth do. This view was acquired from 56 degrees below the ringplane. The image has been digitally reprojected to show the scene as it would appear to an observer positioned directly above the pole.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 14, 2008, using a combination of two spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized visible light centered at 617 and infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 392,000 kilometers (243,000 miles) from Saturn and at a sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 60 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA11104: Convection in Saturn's Southern Vortex sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08934: Clouds Like Sandstone

Whorls, streamers and eddies play in the banded atmosphere of a gas giant. Strong image enhancement renders unto Saturn's clouds a grainy texture not unlike sandstone. However, the loss in delicate smoothness is compensated for by an increase in discernible detail.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 (green channel), 752 (red channel), and 890 (blue channel) nanometers. The semi-transparent red features across the image are clouds detected by the 752 nanometer filter.

The view was acquired on Aug. 19, 2005 at a distance of approximately 492,000 kilometers (306,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 26 kilometers (16 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08934: Clouds Like Sandstone sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06502: Rough Around the Edges

This turbulent boundary between two latitudinal bands in Saturn's atmosphere curls repeatedly along its edge in this Cassini image. This pattern is an example of a Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which occurs when two fluids of different density flow past each other at different speeds. This type of phenomenon should be fairly common on the gas-giant planets given their alternating jets and the different temperatures in their belts and zones.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Oct. 9, 2004, at a distance of 5.9 million kilometers (3.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 69 kilometers (43 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06502: Rough Around the Edges sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00349: Saturn and 4 Icy Moons, Enhanced Color

This enhanced-color picture shows Saturn, its rings, and four of its icy satellites. Three satellites (Tethys, Dione, and Rhea) are visible against the darkness of space, and another smaller satellite (Mimas) is visible against Saturn's cloud tops very near the left horizon and just below the rings. The dark shadows of Mimas and Tethys are also visible on Saturn's cloud tops, and the shadow of Saturn is seen across part of the rings. Saturn, second in size only to Jupiter in our Solar System, is 120,660 km (75,000 mi) in diameter at its equator (the ring plane) but, because of its rapid spin, Saturn is 10% smaller measured through its poles. Saturn's rings are composed mostly of ice particles ranging from microscopic dust to boulders in size. These particles orbit Saturn in a vast disk that is a mere 100 meters (330 feet) or so thick. The rings' thinness contrasts with their huge diameter--for instance 272,400 km (169,000 mi) for the outer part of the bright A ring, the outermost ring visible here. The pronounced concentric gap in the rings, the Cassini Division (named after its discoverer), is a 3500-km wide region (2200 mi, almost the width of the United States) that is much less populated with ring particles than the brighter B and A rings to either side of the gap. The rings also show some enigmatic radial structure ('spokes'), particularly at left. This image was synthesized from images taken in Voyager's orange, blue, and ultraviolet filters and was processed to create an exaggerated false color.

Voir l'image PIA00349: Saturn and 4 Icy Moons, Enhanced Color sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08368: Powering Saturn's Jets

Click on the Image for Annotated Version

Using images like the one presented here, Cassini imaging scientists have made a major finding about the mechanism powering the general circulation of Saturn.

The image shows small-scale, sheared-out cloud features associated with turbulent eddies in the vicinity of one of Saturn's eastward flowing jet streams, or "jets."

The jet itself, located at 27.5 degrees south latitude, is indicated by the large horizontal arrow. Winds in this jet have blown continuously at speeds close to 320 kilometers per hour (200 miles per hour) for as long as scientists have observed Saturn.

By tracking the movements of these cloud features in successive images separated by about 10 hours (about one Saturn rotation), Cassini scientists have confirmed that the eddies on either side of the jet give up their energy and momentum to help keep the winds in the jet blowing.

The tilted arrows indicate the direction in which the eddies move the energy and momentum that power the jet. The winds that accomplish this are so strong that they combine to stretch out the eddies into bright, tilted streaks that are visible here, parallel to the arrows.

The analysis of Cassini images covering most of Saturn's southern hemisphere suggests that similar processes occurring all over Saturn explain the remarkable decades-long stability of its alternating pattern of eastward and westward jets. The same process also occurs on Jupiter, and on Earth in the storm track along the east coast of the United States.

Prior to this discovery, it was thought that the jets on Saturn and Jupiter were powered by an entirely different process, analogous to the tropical circulation on Earth. But now it appears that a comparison to the atmospheric motions in the Earth's mid-latitudes is more appropriate.

The eddies seen in this image also create circulation patterns of upward and downward motion (in altitude) at different latitudes that help explain the general banded structure of global cloud patterns on the Jovian planets.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 20 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08368: Powering Saturn's Jets sur le site de la NASA.

PIA11103: The Yet Yawning Gulf

Shadows reveal the topography of Saturn's south polar vortex. At high resolution, a new, inner ring of isolated, bright clouds is seen. These clouds are localized regions of convective upwelling, an important clue to understanding how heat energy is transported in Saturn's atmosphere.

See PIA11104 for a high-resolution Cassini view that looks more directly down onto the vortex, compared to this oblique perspective. Sunlight illuminates the scene from upper right, and the higher altitude rings of clouds surrounding the pole cast shadows toward lower left. North on Saturn is up.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 15, 2008, with a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 746 and 938 nanometers. The grainy quality of the image is due primarily to the low signal-to-noise ratio of images taken with the 938 nanometer spectral filter, which is near the upper limit of the wavelength range the camera can see. "Signal-to-noise" is a term scientists use to refer to the amount of meaningful or useful information (signal) in their data versus the amount of background noise. A higher signal-to-noise ratio yields sharper, clearer views of features in the atmosphere. The view was acquired from 24 degrees below the ringplane, at a distance of approximately 778,000 kilometers (483,000 miles) from Saturn. The sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle is about 30 degrees. Image scale is 4 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel.

PIA11214: Saturn's South Polar Region Revealed

These two images of Saturn show the entire south polar region, not just the little area around the core of the hurricane-like vortex. Earth-like storm patterns seem to be powering this vortex.

These images were taken in the near-infrared on May 11, 2007, from a distance of 416,000 kilometers (258,500 miles), and with a phase angle of 36 degrees.

From this distance, the resolution is 208 kilometers (128 miles) per pixel. The lower image represents 5.04 microns, a near-infrared wavelength some seven times the reddest wavelength visible to the human eye. At this wavelength, the planet's own heat produces an internal glow against which clouds deep within Saturn are seen in silhouette. Thus, dark areas represent thick clouds while bright areas represent clearings in the clouds.

The upper image shows the polar region in false color, with red, green, and blue depicting the appearance of the pole in three different near-infrared colors. Here, red depicts the 5.04 micron image shown in the black and white image above. Green and blue show the polar region, as seen in reflected sunlight at 3.08 and 4.08 micron wavelengths. The aqua color produced by green and blue light together show bright hazes and clouds in the upper atmosphere away from the pole; the lack of an aqua color component over the pole reveals a surprising dearth of upper-level bright hazes and clouds at high latitudes poleward of 73 degrees latitude, perhaps indicative of a general downwelling, heating, and sublimation into gas vapor of aerosol particles there. This clearing of upper-level hazes and clouds then allows—at other wavelengths not depicted here—unusually clear sunlit views of the deep atmosphere of Saturn near the 1-bar level, much deeper than typically seen elsewhere on the planet.

Due to the lack of bright polar hazes, the pole itself shows up only in reddish hues in this color composite. These red hues depict the near-infrared warm glow of Saturn's interior heat diffusing upward through the clouds, thus revealing clouds at much deeper levels than what can be seen in reflected sunlight. Here, the brightest red coloring indicates clearings between low-lying clouds. These clearings extend downward from just below the haze layer down to about the 5-bar level some 125 kilometers (78 miles) below the upper-level hazes. The eye of the polar vortex is bright, showing that it is nearly cloud free. Dark spots throughout the region reveal the presence of thick convective clouds lurking in the depths of Saturn in the 2 to 5-bar region, about 50 to 125 kilometers (30-80 miles) underneath the hazes. At the edge of the polar region, where the greenish-blue tint of the upper hazes begins, a large ring of thick clouds can be seen in silhouette encircling the planet. Fine strands of streaky cloud material can be seen spiraling into this ring, indicating north/south motions in the planet's deep, dynamic atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu.

Voir l'image PIA11214: Saturn's South Polar Region Revealed sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00335: Full-disk Color Image of Crescent Saturn with Rings and Ring Shadows

PIA08911: Classic Appeal

Like black and white photos of earthly family and friends, monochrome images of Saturn can also capture their subject with crisp poignancy. This infrared view from high above Saturn's ringplane highlights the contrast in the cloud bands, the dimly glowing rings and their shadows on the gas giant planet. The overall effect is stirring.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 48 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light. The view was obtained on Feb. 12, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 144 degrees. Image scale is 191 kilometers (119 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08911: Classic Appeal sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06197: The Dragon Storm

A large, bright and complex convective storm that appeared in Saturn's southern hemisphere in mid-September 2004 was the key in solving a long-standing mystery about the ringed planet.

Saturn's atmosphere and its rings are shown here in a false color composite made from Cassini images taken in near infrared light through filters that sense different amounts of methane gas. Portions of the atmosphere with a large abundance of methane above the clouds are red, indicating clouds that are deep in the atmosphere. Grey indicates high clouds, and brown indicates clouds at intermediate altitudes. The rings are bright blue because there is no methane gas between the ring particles and the camera.

The complex feature with arms and secondary extensions just above and to the right of center is called the Dragon Storm. It lies in a region of the southern hemisphere referred to as "storm alley" by imaging scientists because of the high level of storm activity observed there by Cassini in the last year.

The Dragon Storm was a powerful source of radio emissions during July and September of 2004. The radio waves from the storm resemble the short bursts of static generated by lightning on Earth. Cassini detected the bursts only when the storm was rising over the horizon on the night side of the planet as seen from the spacecraft; the bursts stopped when the storm moved into sunlight. This on/off pattern repeated for many Saturn rotations over a period of several weeks, and it was the clock-like repeatability that indicated the storm and the radio bursts are related. Scientists have concluded that the Dragon Storm is a giant thunderstorm whose precipitation generates electricity as it does on Earth. The storm may be deriving its energy from Saturn's deep atmosphere.

One mystery is why the radio bursts start while the Dragon Storm is below the horizon on the night side and end when the storm is on the day side, still in full view of the Cassini spacecraft. A possible explanation is that the lightning source lies to the east of the visible cloud, perhaps because it is deeper where the currents are eastward relative to those at cloud top levels. If this were the case, the lightning source would come up over the night side horizon and would sink down below the day side horizon before the visible cloud. This would explain the timing of the visible storm relative to the radio bursts.

The Dragon Storm is of great interest for another reason. In examining images taken of Saturn's atmosphere over many months, imaging scientists found that the Dragon Storm arose in the same part of Saturn's atmosphere that had earlier produced large bright convective storms. In other words, the Dragon Storm appears to be a long-lived storm deep in the atmosphere that periodically flares up to produce dramatic bright white plumes which subside over time. One earlier sighting, in July 2004, was also associated with strong radio bursts. And another, observed in March 2004 and captured in a movie created from images of the atmosphere (PIA06082 and PIA06083) spawned three little dark oval storms that broke off from the arms of the main storm. Two of these subsequently merged with each other; the current to the north carried the third one off to the west, and Cassini lost track of it. Small dark storms like these generally get stretched out until they merge with the opposing currents to the north and south.

These little storms are the food that sustains the larger atmospheric features, including the larger ovals and the eastward and westward currents. If the little storms come from the giant thunderstorms, then together they form a food chain that harvests the energy of the deep atmosphere and helps maintain the powerful currents.

Cassini has many more chances to observe future flare-ups of the Dragon Storm, and others like it over the course of the mission. It is likely that scientists will come to solve the mystery of the radio bursts and observe storm creation and merging in the next 2 or 3 years.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06197: The Dragon Storm sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07706: Feathery Northern Clouds

After a year and a half in orbit, the Cassini spacecraft has begun to image Saturn's northern hemisphere in detail. The northern latitudes currently are experiencing winter, and atmospheric scientists are interested in determining whether the winter hemisphere is systematically different in appearance than the sunnier southern hemisphere.

This scene contains a great deal of bright, whorl-shaped cloud activity.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 6, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07706: Feathery Northern Clouds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05395: Swirls of Clouds

PIA05432: Infrared South Pole

This view of Saturn's south pole shows a prominent dark spot, along with flowing, wave-like patterns to the north and toward the right.

This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 13, 2004, from a distance of 5 million kilometers (3.1 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 29 kilometers (18 miles) per pixel. Contrast has been enhanced slightly to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05432: Infrared South Pole sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01379: Saturnian atmospheric storm

PIA07532: Toward the Dayside

Cassini swung in close to Saturn as it rounded the planet's night side, beginning another orbit and moving to progressively higher elevations in order to study the rings.

The view here is from 12 degrees above the ringplane, looking down toward the unlit side of the rings. Sunlight shines from beneath the rings, casting thin, curving shadows across the northern latitudes. The view of the planet is cutoff by the dense B ring near the bottom.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 21, 2005, at a distance of approximately 582,000 kilometers (362,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07532: Toward the Dayside sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08179: Round and Round They Go

This comparison view shows a common, large vortex on Saturn as it plows through the atmosphere. The right image was taken about two Saturn rotations -- about 20 hours -- after the left image.

Such storms can be quite long-lived on gas planets like Saturn, where there are no land masses to slow down storms and dissipate their energy.

Both images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The left image was taken on April 15, 2006, at a distance of approximately 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 23 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel. The right image was taken on April 16, 2006, at a distance of approximately 3.8 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08179: Round and Round They Go sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09745: Raging Vortices

Monster storms, or vortices, swirl in the roiling atmosphere of giant Saturn.

Popcorn-like clouds appear throughout the field of view. Hints of the organized jets are apparent.

This view looks toward a region centered at 22 degrees south of the planet's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 14, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 4 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09745: Raging Vortices sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08212: Clues in the Clouds

Cassini images of Saturn's dynamic atmosphere, like this detailed view, will be combined with data from the spacecraft's two infrared-sensing instruments (the Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer and the Composite Infrared Spectrometer) to measure correlations among cloud features at many altitudes and infer heat flow across the planet.

The numerous small, white blobs generally indicate disturbed and turbulent regions.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 22, 2006 at a distance of approximately 331,000 kilometers (206,000 miles) from Saturn. The image was obtained using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. Image scale is 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08212: Clues in the Clouds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01959: Voyager 2 image of Saturn

PIA05435: A Halo of Moons

Saturn wears a halo of four moons in this wide angle camera image taken by the Cassini spacecraft on August 18, 2004.

Satellites visible in this image are (clockwise from upper left): Tethys (1060 kilometers, or 659 miles wide); Dione (1118 kilometers or 695 miles wide); Enceladus (499 kilometers or 310 miles wide); and Mimas (398 kilometers or 247 miles wide).

The image was taken in visible red light at a distance of 8.9 million kilometers (5.5 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 529 kilometers (329 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05435: A Halo of Moons sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05392: Peering Closer at Titan

The Cassini orbiter continues its observations of Saturn's mysterious moon Titan, stealing another early peek at the haze-enshrouded surface. Cassini's view of Titan now surpasses Earth-based observations in its ability to show detail.

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a prime target for the European-built Huygens probe onboard Cassini. Perpetually enshrouded by a hazy atmosphere, scientists believe Titan may harbor methane seas and organic chemicals, possibly like those on the early Earth. Huygens will be the first probe to descend to the surface of a moon of another planet, and is by far the most distant descent of a robotic probe ever attempted on another object in the solar system.

The Cassini spacecraft was 29.3 million kilometers (18.2 million miles) from Titan on May 5, 2004, when the image on the left was taken through one of the narrow angle camera's spectral filters specifically designed to penetrate the moon's thick atmosphere. The image scale is 176 kilometers (109 miles) per pixel, an improvement in resolution of 30 percent over the images released on May 6.

The image has been magnified 10 times and has been enhanced in contrast to bring out details. The mottled pattern is an artifact of the processing. The larger scale brightness variations are real. No further processing to remove the effects of the overlying atmosphere has been performed.

The superimposed coordinate system grid in the accompanying image on the right illustrates the geographical regions of the moon that are illuminated and visible, as well as the orientation of Titan -- north is up and rotated 25 degrees to the left. The yellow curve marks the position of the boundary between day and night on Titan. This image shows about one quarter of Titan's surface, from 180 to 250 degrees west longitude, and overlaps part of the surface shown in the previous Cassini image release PIA05390.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05392: Peering Closer at Titan sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01377: Photographic mosaic of Saturn

PIA06476: Delicate Southern Detail

PIA10478: Mimas Adrift

The Cassini spacecraft looks beyond Saturn's limb toward the icy face of Mimas, the innermost of the planet's major moons.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 3 degrees below the ringplane. Mimas is 396 kilometers (246 miles) across.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 4, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn and 2.8 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Mimas. Image scale is 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel on Saturn and 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel on Mimas.

PIA06639: Dione's Companion

Saturn's moon Helene, seen here with Saturn's nearly edge-on rings, orbits 60 degrees ahead of Dione and is called a "Trojan" moon. The tiny moon Polydeuces (about 5 kilometers or 3 miles across, recently discovered by Cassini imaging scientists) is also a Dione Trojan, orbiting 60 degrees behind. Helene is 32 kilometers (20 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 12, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Helene and at a Sun-Helene-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 90 degrees. Resolution in the original image was 10 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06639: Dione's Companion sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01957: Photograph of Saturn constructed in false color

PIA07650: Movement in the Shadows

A gorgeous close-up look at the Saturnian atmosphere reveals small, bright and puffy clouds with long filamentary streamers that are reminiscent of the anvil-shaped Earthly cirrus clouds that extend downwind of thunderstorms. Dark ring shadows hang over the scene while the planet rotates beneath.

The image was taken in infrared light (939 nanometers) with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 29, 2005, at a distance of approximately 388,000 kilometers (241,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 20 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel. The image was contrast enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07650: Movement in the Shadows sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08896: Rivers of Cloud

Rippling with detail, the southern hemisphere of Saturn comes to life in this view from the Cassini spacecraft. Long, flowing streamers and bands of great contrast soften toward the pole, where a great hurricane-like storm resides.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The image was taken on Feb. 1, 2007 at a distance of approximately 945,000 kilometers (587,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 53 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08896: Rivers of Cloud sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08392: Shadowing Saturn

Like a silvery pearl, an icy moon crosses the face of Saturn, while two of its siblings cast shadows onto the planet.

Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) hangs in the foreground. Near upper left on Saturn is the small shadow of Mimas. Near lower right is the penumbral shadow of Iapetus -- the part of the moon's shadow where Iapetus does not completely block the sun.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane. The rings' shadows drape across the northern hemisphere.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 15, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (744,000 miles) from Rhea and 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 71 kilometers (44 miles) per pixel on Rhea and 103 kilometers (64 miles) on Saturn.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08392: Shadowing Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01143: Saturn With Rhea and Dione (false color)

PIA06584: Vortex Flow

The study of a planetary atmosphere like Saturn's is quite different from studying solid surfaces, since atmospheres are dynamic and ever-changing. In this Cassini image, the large-scale curvilinear pattern suggests flow around the vortices in the center of the image. However, the fine-scale linear striations are themselves notable for their indication of the stability of the flow in this region.

Cassini imaging scientists make repeated observations--including making movies--of Saturn's atmosphere in order to track storms and other features and watch how the planet's dynamic atmosphere changes over time.

This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 6, 2004, at a distance of about 3.3 million kilometers (2 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 39 kilometers (24 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06584: Vortex Flow sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06642: Amazing Icy Moons

A scene straight out of science fiction, this fantastic view shows, from left to right, Saturn's moon's Mimas, Dione and Rhea, on the far side of Saturn's nearly edge-on rings.

The trailing hemispheres of all three moons are sunlit here, and wispy markings can be seen on the limbs of both Dione and Rhea. The diameter of Mimas is 397 kilometers (247 miles), Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) and Rhea is 1,528 kilometers (949 miles).

The image was taken in visible blue light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 15, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 14 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06642: Amazing Icy Moons sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09186: Saturn's Strange Hexagon

This nighttime view of Saturn's north pole by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer onboard NASA's Cassini orbiter clearly shows a bizarre six-sided hexagon feature encircling the entire north pole. This is one of the first clear images taken of the north polar region ever acquired from a unique polar perspective.

In this image, the red color indicates the amount of 5-micron wavelength radiation, or heat, generated in the warm interior of Saturn that escapes the planet. Clouds near 3-bar (about 100 kilometers or 62 miles deeper than seen in visible wavelengths) block the light, revealing them in silhouette against the background thermal glow of Saturn. The bluish color shows sunlight striking the far limb (edge) of the planet, showing that the entire north pole is under the nighttime conditions characteristic of polar winter, as on Earth.

This image is the first to capture the entire feature and north polar region in one shot, and is also the first polar view using Saturn's thermal glow at 5 microns (seven times the wavelength visible to the human eye) as the light source. This allows the pole to be revealed during the persistent nighttime conditions under way during winter. The hexagon feature was originally discovered by NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1980, but those historic images and subsequent ground-based telescope images suffered from poor viewing perspectives, which placed the feature and the north pole at the extreme northern limb (edge) in those images.

In the new infrared images, the strong brightness of the hexagon feature indicates that it is primarily a clearing in the clouds, which extends deep into the atmosphere, at least some 75 kilometers (47 miles) underneath the typical upper hazes and clouds seen in the daytime imagery by Voyager. Thick clouds border both sides of the narrow feature, as indicated by the adjacent dark lanes paralleling the bright hexagon. This and other images acquired over a 12-day period between Oct. 30 and Nov. 11, 2006, show that the feature is nearly stationary, and likely is an unusually strong pole-encircling planetary wave that extends deep into the atmosphere.

This image was acquired with the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on Oct. 30, 2006, from an average distance of 1.3 million kilometers (807,782 miles).

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, where this image was produced.

Voir l'image PIA09186: Saturn's Strange Hexagon sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05409: Bands and Swirls in Infrared

PIA09867: Flowing Cloud Bands

The Cassini spacecraft observes the swirling features in Saturn's northern cloud bands. Ring-cast shadows darken the planet's northern hemisphere at increasingly lower latitudes.

In late 2004, not long after Cassini arrived in orbit (see PIA06177), the shadows extended much farther north. Their southerly slide continues as the seasons change on Saturn.

This view is centered on 25 degrees north latitude and was acquired from about 39 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 18, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (716,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 65 kilometers (41 miles) per pixel.

PIA08142: Against the Current

Storm Alley's latest, greatest resident, the recent lightning-producing storm seen by the Cassini spacecraft and Earth-based observers churns away. Turbulent eddies to the west (left) of the storm indicate that it is moving eastward relative to the westward-flowing winds at this latitude on Saturn.

Scientists gave the nickname "Storm Alley" to the area around 35 degrees south latitude because of the large amount of activity seen there from the beginning of the Cassini spacecraft's approach to Saturn in early 2004. The region has spawned two large and powerful storms since the Cassini spacecraft began observations.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 16, 2006, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers, and at a distance of approximately 3.2 million kilometers (2 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 19 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08142: Against the Current sur le site de la NASA.

PIA03152: Saturn's Atmospheric Changes

PIA06569: Spotting the Storms

Cassini captured this revealing view, which shows that Saturn's hydrogen- and helium-rich atmosphere is a dynamic place, filled with spots, ovals and swirling vortices and filaments of gas.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Dec. 14, 2004, at a distance of 595,000 kilometers (370,000 miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. It has been highly processed to enhance details. The image scale is about 32 kilometers (20 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06569: Spotting the Storms sur le site de la NASA.

PIA02225: Saturn Approach - Full Disk

PIA10492: Saturn from Below

The Cassini spacecraft looks upward at the swirling clouds of Saturn's southern hemisphere. The C and B rings are seen at right, beyond the planet's nightside limb.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 48 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 27, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 609,000 kilometers (378,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 33 kilometers (20 miles) per pixel.

PIA06515: Streamers and Swirls

This image from Cassini shows details in the alternating light and dark bands in Saturn's southern hemisphere. Visible details in this image are a dark, curved ribbon near upper left, and an elliptical dark spot with attached streamers above and left of center.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 25, 2004, at a distance of 7.7 million kilometers (4.8 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 46 kilometers (29 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06515: Streamers and Swirls sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09815: Over Your Head

The Cassini spacecraft looks toward high northern latitudes on Saturn and the wild cloud forms that swirl there.

The view was taken from about 23 degrees above the ringplane and looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 17, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (791,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 72 kilometers (45 miles) per pixel.

PIA05400: Atmospheric Detail in the Near Infrared

PIA08130: Ripples of Cloud

Occasional views like this one, showing vertical relief in Saturn's cloud tops, help the streamers and swirls of gas seem more like a three dimensional structure than a smooth surface. As on Saturn's solid moons, vertical relief is easiest to view near the terminator, and makes visible the shading of deeper cloud tops by high altitude bands.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 23, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn. Resolution in the original image was 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and contrast-enhanced to aid visibility.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08130: Ripples of Cloud sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06602: Fluid Flow

A great dark storm stares out from Saturn in this Cassini image, showing how beautiful and intricate the planet's atmosphere can be. Turbulent areas represent the boundaries between air masses moving at different velocities.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 6, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.3 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 39 kilometers (24 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06602: Fluid Flow sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08923: Looking Up

The Cassini spacecraft gazes upward at the face of giant Saturn, seeing beyond the equator to where ring shadows fall across the bluish northern latitudes.

This extreme southern view looks northward from about 58 degrees below the ringplane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 1, 2007 at a distance of approximately 940,000 kilometers (584,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 106 kilometers (66 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08923: Looking Up sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01268: An Infrared View of Saturn

In honor of NASA Hubble Space Telescope's eighth anniversary, we have gift wrapped Saturn in vivid colors. Actually, this image is courtesy of the new Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), which has taken its first peek at Saturn. The false-color image - taken Jan. 4, 1998 - shows the planet's reflected infrared light. This view provides detailed information on the clouds and hazes in Saturn's atmosphere.

The blue colors indicate a clear atmosphere down to a main cloud layer. Different shadings of blue indicate variations in the cloud particles, in size or chemical composition. The cloud particles are believed to be ammonia ice crystals. Most of the northern hemisphere that is visible above the rings is relatively clear. The dark region around the south pole at the bottom indicates a big hole in the main cloud layer.

The green and yellow colors indicate a haze above the main cloud layer. The haze is thin where the colors are green but thick where they are yellow. Most of the southern hemisphere (the lower part of Saturn) is quite hazy. These layers are aligned with latitude lines, due to Saturn's east-west winds.

The red and orange colors indicate clouds reaching up high into the atmosphere. Red clouds are even higher than orange clouds. The densest regions of two storms near Saturn's equator appear white. On Earth, the storms with the highest clouds are also found in tropical latitudes. The smaller storm on the left is about as large as the Earth, and larger storms have been recorded on Saturn in 1990 and 1994.

The rings, made up of chunks of ice, are as white as images of ice taken in visible light. However, in the infrared, water absorption causes various colorations. The most obvious is the brown color of the innermost ring. The rings cast their shadow onto Saturn. The bright line seen within this shadow is sunlight shining through the Cassini Division, the separation between the two bright rings. It is best observed on the left side, just above the rings. This view is possible due to a rare geometry during the observation. The next time this observable from Earth will be in 2006. An accurate investigation of the ring's shadow also shows sunlight shining through the Encke Gap, a thin division very close to the outer edge of the ring system.

Two of Saturn's satellites were recorded, Dione on the lower left and Tethys on the upper right. Tethys is just ending its transit across the disk of Saturn. They appear in different colors, yellow and green, indicating different conditions on their icy surfaces.

Wavelengths: A color image consists of three exposures (or three film layers). For visible true-color images, the wavelengths of these three exposures are 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6 micrometers for blue, green, and red light, respectively. This Saturn image was taken at longer infrared wavelengths of 1.0, 1.8, and 2.1 micrometers, displayed as blue, green, and red. Reflected sunlight is seen at all these wavelengths, since Saturn's own heat glows only at wavelengths above 4 micrometers.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01268: An Infrared View of Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10444: Beneath the Haze

Swirling clouds drift like phantoms in Saturn's murky depths.

The camera filter used for this image captures light at wavelengths where atmospheric gases like methane are fairly transparent, allowing for detailed views of deep cloud features.

Other filters (see PIA09859) use light that is strongly absorbed by methane gas; the light bounces off the high clouds, making them visible, but gets absorbed before it reaches the low clouds. The use of such filters allows Cassini's cameras to probe Saturn's atmosphere at different depths.

The view looks toward a region 22 degrees north of Saturn's equator. North is up.The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 20, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (774,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

PIA09188: Saturn's Active North Pole

A bizarre six-sided feature encircling the north pole of Saturn near 78 degrees north latitude has been spied by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on NASA's Cassini spacecraft. This image is one of the first clear images ever taken of the north polar region as seen from a unique polar perspective.

Originally discovered and last observed by a spacecraft during NASA's Voyager flybys of the early 1980's, the new views of this polar hexagon taken in late 2006 prove that this is an unusually long-lived feature on Saturn.

This image is the first to capture the entire feature and north polar region in one shot, and is also the first polar view using Saturn's thermal glow at 5 microns (seven times the wavelength visible to the human eye) as the light source. This allows the pole to be revealed during the nighttime conditions presently underway during north polar winter. Previous images from Voyager and from ground-based telescopes suffered from poor viewing perspectives, which placed the feature and the north pole at the extreme northern limb (edge) of the planet.

To see the deep atmosphere at night, the infrared instrument images the thermal glow radiating from Saturn's depths. Clouds at depths about 75 kilometers (47 miles) lower than the clouds seen at visible wavelengths block this light, appearing dark in silhouette. To show clouds as features that are bright or white rather than dark, the original image has been contrast reversed to produce the image shown here. The nested set of alternating white and dark hexagons indicates that the hexagonal complex extends deep into the atmosphere, at least down to the 3-Earth-atmosphere pressure level, some 75 kilometers (47 miles) underneath the clouds seen by Voyager. Multiple images acquired over a 12-day period between Oct. 30 and Nov. 11, 2006, show that the feature is nearly stationary, and likely is an unusually strong pole-encircling planetary wave that extends deep into the atmosphere.

This image was acquired on Oct. 29, 2006, from an average distance of 902,000 kilometers (560,400 miles) above the cloud tops of Saturn.

Voir l'image PIA09188: Saturn's Active North Pole sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10495: So Many Swirls

From high above the ringplane, the Cassini spacecraft captures a multitude of storms in the blustery cloud bands of Saturn's high north.

This view looks toward the planet from about 72 degrees north of the equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 26, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 397,000 kilometers (246,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 20 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel.

PIA09001: Cloud Phantoms

Bright, circular cloud features waltz through the turbid atmosphere of Saturn in this Cassini spacecraft view.

Several jets/bands appear in this image (center and upper right). In contrast to the circular cloud features, these clouds appear thin and linear.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 8, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09001: Cloud Phantoms sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06436: Saturn's Auroras

The Cassini spacecraft has obtained new images of Saturn's auroral emissions, which are similar to Earth's Northern Lights. Images taken on June 21, 2005, with Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph are the first from the mission to capture the entire "oval" of the auroral emissions at Saturn's south pole.

In the side-by-side, false-color images, blue represents aurora emissions from hydrogen gas excited by electron bombardment, while red-orange represents reflected sunlight. The images show that the aurora lights at the polar regions respond rapidly to changes in the solar wind.

Previous images have been taken closer to the equator, making it difficult to see the polar regions. Changes in the emissions inside the Saturn south-pole aurora are visible by comparing the two images, taken about one hour apart. The brightest spot in the left aurora fades, and a bright spot appears in the middle of the aurora in the second image.

Made by slowly scanning the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph instrument across the planet, the images contain more than 2,000 wavelengths of spectral information within each picture, which helps researchers study Saturn's auroras, gases, hazes and their changing distributions.

Like Earth's aurora, those on Saturn form in an oval at high latitudes around each pole, along with associated spots and streaks. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph data shows that the Saturn aurora lasts at least one hour, but small changes are visible in that time between the two images.

The same process produces auroras on both planets: variations in the plasma environment release trapped electrons, which stream along the magnetic field lines into the upper atmosphere. There, they collide with atoms and molecules, exciting them to higher energies. The atoms and molecules release this added energy by radiating light at particular characteristic colors and wavelengths. On Earth, this light is mostly from oxygen atoms and nitrogen molecules. On Saturn, it is from emissions of molecular and atomic hydrogen.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini- Huygens mission for NASA's Space Science Mission Directorate in Washington D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph was built at, and the team is based at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team home page is at http://lasp.colorado.edu/cassini.

Voir l'image PIA06436: Saturn's Auroras sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08989: Peeking Over the Pole

Storms ringed by bright clouds swirl near the south pole of Saturn. This lateral view captures the bull's-eye pattern that surrounds the pole, where a monstrous, hurricane-like storm resides.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 12, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 354,000 kilometers (220,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 18 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08989: Peeking Over the Pole sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08935: Writhing Windforms

Contorted clouds wriggle across high northern latitudes in this exquisitely detailed close-up of Saturn's atmosphere. Two immense storms swirl at right, each easily 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) across.

The wispy, swirling nature of the bright clouds is reminiscent of cloud material being dumped into the cloud-level atmosphere by convective updrafts that come up from below, with the local shear and turbulence then creating the patterns seen, like a dye marker injected into a flowing stream.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08935: Writhing Windforms sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05416: Moon under Saturn

Saturn's captivating cloud bands display a number of interesting features in this narrow angle camera image taken by the Cassini spacecraft on May 20, 2004. On close inspection, the sub-equatorial bands at around 20 degrees south latitude have a braided rope-like appearance. Also noteworthy are swirls and vortices around 60 degrees south latitude. The moon Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) is visible just below and to the right of Saturn's South Pole.

The image was taken when Cassini was 22 million kilometers (13.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 131 kilometers (81 miles) per pixel. Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05416: Moon under Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06503: South Pole in Ultraviolet

Wavy bands in Saturn's high atmosphere lazily circle the south polar region in this Cassini image, taken through a filter sensitive to ultraviolet light.

At these wavelengths, gas in the atmosphere scatters sunlight more than the particles that make up the clouds, so the clouds look dark. This scattering of short-wavelength light by gas molecules is called Rayleigh scattering, and is the phenomenon that makes Earth's sky look blue.

The bright wedge near the lower-left limb of the planet falls in a latitude band just south of the dark 'polar collar.' Imaging scientists can discern from this image that the stratosphere in this more southerly latitude band is relatively pure hydrogen and helium and contains very little of the stratospheric haze that causes darkening closer to the pole.

This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Aug. 27, 2004, at a distance of 9 million kilometers (5.6 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 108 kilometers (67 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06503: South Pole in Ultraviolet sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08369: Sixty for Saturn

The 60th moon of Saturn reveals itself in a sequence of images. The discovery suggests that the new moon, along with its neighbors Methone and Pallene (discovered by the Cassini imaging team in 2004), may form part of a larger group of moons in this region. The movie spans six hours.

Initial calculations show the moon to have a width of approximately 2 kilometers (1.2 miles), with an orbit that lies between those of the moons Methone and Pallene. The moon's orbit is in resonance with another moon, Mimas, also seen in this sequence as a very bright, moving object. The new moon's location is indicated by a red box.

The (narrow) ring visible in the images is the G ring, and the G ring arc passes through the field of view during the course of the movie. Calypso, a Trojan moon of Tethys, is also visible in the sequence. Trojan moons are found near gravitationally stable points ahead or behind a larger moon.

This view looks toward the non-illuminated side of the rings from about 3 degrees above the ringplane.

The series of images was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 30, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.76 million kilometers (1.09 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 105 kilometers (65 miles) per pixel. The ghostly shape that stretches across the scene results from scattered light within the camera optics.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08369: Sixty for Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA11215: Infrared Movie of Saturn's North Polar Region

This near-infrared movie of Saturn's north pole shows a giant cyclone, encircled by a hexagon feature. The movie was created from several images, taken by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft.

The hexagon itself is populated by fast-moving clouds which reach speeds of over 530 kilometers per hour (300 miles per hour). The discrete, circular and oblong clouds dotting the image are likely convective upwelling originating deep inside the planet, which help power the cyclones. The movie shows clouds throughout the atmosphere, down to as deep as 125 kilometers (78 miles) below the haze. Many of the features seen are thought to be deep-level clouds of ammonia-hydrosulfide, which rise to higher altitudes in convective updrafts.

This movie is centered on the pole and shows the cyclonic motions of rings of clouds in the near-infrared wavelength of 5 microns, some seven times the reddest wavelength observed by the human eye. The resolution is better than 200 kilometers (124 miles) per pixel. The movie covers a six-hour period at close range (as close as 240,000 kilometers, or 149,000 miles above the clouds) from a nearly-overhead viewpoint. Winds reach over 150 meters per second (325 miles per hour) at 88.3 degrees south latitude, just outside the first bright ring nearest the pole.

Normally Saturn's internal glow illuminates Saturn's deep clouds from below, thus rendering the clouds in silhouette against this background glow. Nevertheless, for the movie, the contrast has been reversed to show the clouds as white, thus making the clouds appear more like they would if seen in reflected light.

This movie was created from four images obtained on June 15 over a range of distances between 224,000 and 422,000 kilometers (149,000 miles to 262,000 miles) above the clouds and a sub-spacecraft north latitude ranging from 69 to 78 degrees.

A polar orthographic projection was used, with 0 degrees longitude toward the top center, 90 degrees west longitude toward the right center, etc., based on the longitude system established by Voyager. Features are thus seen flowing in Saturn's reference frame, with the planet's spin eliminated.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu.

Voir l'image PIA11215: Infrared Movie of Saturn's North Polar Region sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00024: Saturn With Tethys and Dione

PIA07788: Storm at Night (Limb View)

This image shows a rare and powerful storm on the night side of Saturn.

Light from Saturn's rings (called "ringshine") provided the illumination, allowing the storm and other cloud features to be seen.

(See PIA07789 for a reprojected cylindrical map view of the storm shown in this image.)

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07788: Storm at Night (Limb View) sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10358: Saturn's Infrared Temperature Snapshot

PIA08932: My Blue Heaven

In Saturn's bluish north, day ends for the dreamy white clouds that stretch here into twilight.

This natural color scene shows middle latitudes in Saturn's north at excellent resolution, and with little detectable blur due to spacecraft motion.

North on Saturn is up and rotated 22 degrees to the right.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this color view. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 1, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 86 degrees. Image scale is about 12 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08932: My Blue Heaven sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08153: Seeking the Cloud Tops

Long, thin streamers of cloud arc gracefully across this view of Saturn's southerly latitudes.

Analysis of images like this should lead scientists to a new understanding of cloud height variations on this complex gas giant world.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08153: Seeking the Cloud Tops sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09876: Over the Top

Saturn dominates this colorful view, taken from a vantage point high above the rings. From here the Cassini spacecraft can see the rings' far side, where the dark shadow of Saturn abruptly terminates their visibility.

Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) casts its shadow onto the planet's northern latitudes below center.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 27 degrees above the ringplane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 26, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1.6 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 93 kilometers (58 miles) per pixel.

PIA06576: Going with the Flow

Lanes of cold gas in Saturn's mostly hydrogen atmosphere brush past each other, often creating spectacular patterns like those seen here. The whirling shapes near the bottom of this view suggest turbulent interactions between latitudinal regions of different densities moving at different speeds, while the long, linear shapes in the lanes above suggest more stable conditions in the flow there.

The image of Saturn's southern hemisphere was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 5, 2004, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 40 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel. Contrast was enhanced to aid visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06576: Going with the Flow sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08182: A Multitude of Moons

Four of Saturn's many and varied moons crowd this single frame from Cassini.

All of the moons are illuminated by the sun, which is out of the frame to the right. "Saturnshine," or reflected light from the planet (out of frame to the lower left), partly illuminates three of the moons: Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across, at upper right), Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across, at lower left) and Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across, below and left of center). Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) shows merely a slim crescent below center.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 17, 2006, at a distance of approximately 3.7 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 27 kilometers (17 miles) per pixel on Tethys, 21 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel on Enceladus, and 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel on Janus and Epimetheus.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08182: A Multitude of Moons sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01277: Hubble Views Saturn Ring-Plane Crossing (satellites labeled)

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Technical Notes Each of these images is a 7-second exposure at 8922 Angstroms in a methane absorption band. North is up and east is to the left.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01277: Hubble Views Saturn Ring-Plane Crossing (satellites labeled) sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08238: Cassini: the Profiler

The Cassini spacecraft continues to profile the haze structure and opacity in Saturn's upper atmosphere with images like this, which captures Rigel, a star in Orion whose brightness is well-known, as it passes behind the planet.

The extent to which the star's light is dimmed tells scientists about the sizes and amounts of the molecules and tiny particles that make up the atmospheric hazes.

The image was taken in visible red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 30, 2004 at a distance of approximately 446,000 kilometers (277,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08238: Cassini: the Profiler sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01973: Saturn's atmosphere

PIA08360: Tourniquet Shadows

Dark and sharply defined ring shadows appear to constrict the flow of color from Saturn's warmly hued south to the bluish northern latitudes.

Scientists studying Saturn are not yet sure about the precise cause of the color change from north to south. NASA Voyager spacecraft flybys witnessed a more evenly painted planet in the early 1980s, when Saturn was closer to equinox. However, the bluish color was readily apparent upon Cassini's approach to the planet in late 2003, when Saturn was just coming out of its northern hemisphere winter. Scientists have speculated that the color is due to seasonal effects on the atmosphere.

Aside from the color differences, the cloud morphology is quite different in the polar regions compared to the mid-latitudes. Bright, isolated clouds dot the high latitudes, while Saturn's middle is characterized by flowing cloud bands and the occasional bright or dark vortex.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about half a degree below the ring plane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 67 kilometers (42 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08360: Tourniquet Shadows sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07673: Tilted Giant

This moody portrait of Saturn captures a razor-thin ringplane bisecting the clouds of the bright equatorial region. The rings cast dark, shadowy bands onto the planet's northern latitudes.

At left, Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) is a tiny sunlit orb against the planet's dark side.

The image was taken in polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 7, 2005 at a distance of approximately 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 96 degrees. Image scale is 179 kilometers (111 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07673: Tilted Giant sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07564: Filaments and Vortices

Faint filaments in Saturn's atmosphere spiral around two oval-shaped storms in a direction opposite to the winds which rotate around Southern Hemisphere hurricanes on Earth. One storm is seen near the lower right, and the other is near the lower left above a much darker storm.

Atmospheric scientists do not yet fully understand what these filaments are, but some possible explanations have been proposed. The filaments might represent material connecting the spots if the two have recently split from a single storm. The spirals could also represent wind flow in the atmosphere. Further investigation by Cassini imaging scientists is likely to clarify the precise nature of the filaments.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 6, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 14 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07564: Filaments and Vortices sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08864: Cloud Lanes

PIA01270: Sunset on Saturn's Rings

This is a rare view of Saturn's rings seen just after the Sun has set below the ring plane, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope on Nov. 21, 1995.

This perspective is unusual because the Earth is slightly above (2.7 degrees latitude) Saturn's rings and the Sun is below them. Normally we see the rings fully illuminated by the Sun.

The photograph shows three bright ring features: the F Ring, the Cassini Division, and the C Ring (moving from the outer rings to the inner). The low concentration of material in these rings allows light from the Sun to shine through them. The A and B rings are much denser, which limits the amount of light that penetrates through them. Instead, they are faintly visible because they reflect light from Saturn's disk.

Scientists believe that the F Ring is slightly warped because it disappears part way around on the right (West) side. Hubble's high resolution shows the that A Ring's shadow obscures part of the F ring (right).

The image was assembled from 20 exposures taken with Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 over 8 hours.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01270: Sunset on Saturn's Rings sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08367: Shadowcaster

Cassini takes in a sweeping view of Saturn's south polar region as the planet's shadow masks the rings and bright, icy Mimas looks on from left.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 28 degrees below the ring plane.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this color view. The view was acquired with the wide-angle camera on Feb. 20, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 58 kilometers (36 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08367: Shadowcaster sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07563: Impressions from Cassini

Saturn's turbulent atmosphere is reminiscent of a Van Gogh painting in this view from Cassini. However, unlike the famous impressionist painter, Cassini records the world precisely as it appears to the spacecraft's cameras.

The feathery band that cuts across from the upper left corner to the right side of this scene has a chevron, or arrow, shape near the right. The center of the chevron is located at the latitude (about 28 degrees South) of an eastward-flowing zonal jet in the atmosphere. Counter-flowing eastward and westward jets are the dominant dynamic features seen in the giant planet atmospheres. A chevron-shaped feature with the tip pointed east means that this is a local maximum in the eastward wind and a region of horizontal wind shear, where clouds to the north and south of the jet are being swept back by the slower currents on the sides of the jet.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 6, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.5 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 14 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .

Voir l'image PIA07563: Impressions from Cassini sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06484: Saturn's Layered Bands

With alternating light and dark bands, Saturn's south pole looks something like an upside-down layer cake in this view, taken on Aug. 10, 2004. The disturbed boundaries between the bands demonstrate that winds move at different speeds at different latitudes on the gas giant.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 8.6 million kilometers (5.3 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 51 kilometers (32 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06484: Saturn's Layered Bands sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08411: Saturn's Long-lived Storm

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It is no Great Red Spot, but these two side-by-side views show the longest-lived electrical storm yet observed on Saturn by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

The views were acquired more than three months after the storm was first detected from its lightning-produced radio discharges on Nov. 27, 2007. See PIA08410 for an earlier color view of this storm. Cassini imaging scientists believe the storm to be a vertically extended disturbance that penetrates from Saturn's lower to upper troposphere.

The view at left was created by combining images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters, and shows Saturn in colors that approximate what the human eye would see. The storm stands out with greater clarity in the sharpened, enhanced color view at right. This view combines images taken in infrared, green and violet light at 939, 567 and 420 nanometers respectively and represents an expansion of the wavelength region of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to human eyes. This view looks toward the un-illuminated side of the rings from about 3 degrees above the ringplane. Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) appears as a dark speck just beneath the rings in both images.

These images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 4, 2008, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 74 kilometers (46 miles) per pixel.

Voir l'image PIA08411: Saturn's Long-lived Storm sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08154: Bright Vortex

Gaseous Saturn rotates quickly -- once every approximately 10.8 hours -- and its horizontal cloud bands rotate at different rates relative to each other. These conditions can cause turbulent features in the atmosphere to become greatly stretched and sheared, creating the beautiful patterns that the Cassini spacecraft observes. This turbulence and shear is particularly notable at those boundaries where the different bands slide past each other.

Vortices like the one seen here are long-lived dynamical features that are part of the general circulation of Saturn's atmosphere. They are counterparts to the east-west flowing jets and can last for months or years. They probably grow by merging with other vortices until a few dominate a particular shear zone between two jets.

This image was taken in polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 7, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08154: Bright Vortex sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06538: The Adventure Ahead

This majestic view of Saturn captures several phenomena of interest to scientists working on the Cassini mission. The planet's nighttime atmosphere looms ahead -- an excellent place to search for storms and lightning. Saturn's shadow stretches across the rings, which will over the next four years receive their most thorough examination since Galileo discovered them in 1610. And barely visible near lower right just inside the F ring, is the small shepherd moon Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across). Researchers will explore the many moons of Saturn, including special ones like Prometheus that help maintain some of the rings and gaps in this complex and dynamic system.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Oct. 29, 2004, at a distance of about 940,000 kilometers (584,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 52 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06538: The Adventure Ahead sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01941: String of Pearls

Black and White Image

In this image, Saturn's fascinating meteorology manifests itself in a "string of pearls" formation, spanning over 60,000 kilometers (37,000 miles).

Seen in new images acquired by Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer and lit from below by Saturn's internal thermal glow, the bright "pearls" are actually clearings in Saturn's deep cloud system. More than two dozen occur at 40 degrees north latitude. Each clearing follows another at a regular spacing of some 3.5 degrees in longitude.

This is the first time such a regular and extensive train of cloud-clearings has been observed. The regularity indicates that they may be a manifestation of a large planetary wave. Scientists plan to take more observations of this phenomenon over the next few years to try to understand Saturn's deep circulation systems and meteorology. This image was taken on April 27, 2006.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu.

Voir l'image PIA01941: String of Pearls sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06544: Saturn's Summer Tilt

Saturn's southern hemisphere shines in the light of a summer morning in this unusual view from the Cassini spacecraft. The planet's southern hemisphere is currently tilted toward the Sun (for reference see PIA05425).

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Oct. 30, 2004, at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (870,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 123 degrees. North is rotated about 20 degrees to the left. The image scale is 82 kilometers (51 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06544: Saturn's Summer Tilt sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08161: Worlds in Orbit

Three of Saturn's moons are captured with the planet in this exquisite family portrait. At top, Saturn is bedecked with the shadows of its innermost rings.

Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across) appears at lower right, closest to Cassini. Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) and Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) are on the far side of the immense ringed planet. Mimas is just about to slip behind Saturn.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 13, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is about 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel on Janus and Mimas, and 14 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel on Tethys.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08161: Worlds in Orbit sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09726: Window Into Worlds

This stirring scene captures some of the grandeur of the Saturn system while also allowing a simultaneous glimpse beneath the hazes that cover both Saturn and Titan.

The infrared view reveals bright, swirling clouds and zonal cloud bands in the giant planet's atmosphere, as well as a hint of the dark, equatorial terrain on Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across).

Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) is visible near right, on the far side of the ringplane.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from less than a degree above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 1, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 3.6 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 214 kilometers (133 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09726: Window Into Worlds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08166: Saturn's Subtle Spectrum

Dreamy colors ranging from pale rose to butterscotch to sapphire give this utterly inhospitable gas planet a romantic appeal. Shadows of the rings caress the northern latitudes whose blue color is presumed to be a seasonal effect.

Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) hugs the ringplane right of center.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this color view, which approximates what the human eye would see. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 102 degrees. Image scale is 120 kilometers (75 miles) per pixel on Saturn.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08166: Saturn's Subtle Spectrum sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07646: Pensive Saturn

This brooding portrait shows the southwest limb (edge) of the cold gas giant and the thread-like cloud features lurking there. The limb appears smooth, but at the terminator (the boundary between light and dark) and at higher resolution, variations in cloud height can cause shadows that are visible to Cassini (see PIA06596).

The image was taken in visible, red light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 30, 2005, at a distance of approximately 401,000 kilometers (249,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 155 degrees. Image scale is 20 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel. The image was contrast enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07646: Pensive Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06467: Polar Details

This view of Saturn's southern polar region is dotted with flecks of bright cloud and several ominous dark spots. Remarkably fine details are visible.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 24, 2004, at a distance of 6.8 million kilometers (4.2 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image scale is 40 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06467: Polar Details sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08168: Waves and Shear

This remarkably detailed view of Saturn's clouds reveals waves at the northern boundary of the bright equatorial zone, presumably associated both with the strong wind shear there and also the difference in density across the boundary with the band to the north. The intense eastward-flowing jet at the equator makes the edges of the equatorial zone among the most strongly sheared on the planet.

To the south, two dark ovals embrace, while dark ring shadows blanket the north. The moon Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) occupies a mere two pixels beneath the rings, at right of center.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 16, 2006, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 118 kilometers (73 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08168: Waves and Shear sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10543: Encroaching Darkness

Saturn's south pole, seen here by the Cassini spacecraft, is in twilight as Saturn nears equinox (August 2009). Soon, the pole will enter its 15-year-long night.

This mosaic consists of four images that were digitally reprojected onto a computer model of Saturn, and aligned there, in order to account for the spacecraft's motion and the planet's rotation.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Nov. 18, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 869,000 kilometers (540,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 37 degrees. Mosaic scale is 49 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel.

PIA08823: Such Splendor

The Cassini spacecraft gazes down at the marvelous rings and swirling clouds of giant Saturn from above the planet's north pole.

Such views are possible as the spacecraft performs its "180-degree transfer," a key navigation maneuver that quickly raises the inclination of Cassini's orbit and shifts the orbital ellipse around to a different side of the planet, before quickly lowering the inclination again.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 30, 2006. Cassini was then at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 142 degrees. Image scale is 67 kilometers (41 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08823: Such Splendor sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06415: Saturn's Ring Shadow, Then and Now

The image on the left was taken on Nov. 1, 1980, by NASA's Voyager spacecraft from a distance of 5.3 million kilometers (3.3 million miles). It shows a very strong narrow shadow cast on the equatorial region of Saturn's atmosphere by the rings. During the Voyager encounters, the Sun was close to the plane of the rings so that the ring shadow was very deep and localized to low latitudes.

Radio signals detected by Voyager were interpreted as lightning coming from a persistent, extended storm system at low latitudes. It is possible that the ring shadow was partly responsible for generating this storm by promoting strong convection at the boundary of the colder shadowed atmosphere and the adjoining sunlit atmosphere. This image was previously released on June 19, 1999. For original caption see PIA00335.

The image on the right was acquired by the Cassini spacecraft on May 10, 2004, from a distance of 27.2 million kilometers (16.9 million miles) and shows the complex set of ring shadows cast over a large region of Saturn's northern hemisphere. This shadow pattern is due to the Sun being well below the ring plane during Cassini's approach to Saturn. This image was previously release on May 25, 2004. For original caption see PIA05394.

Unlike the situation when NASA's Voyager spacecraft flew by Saturn, these ring shadows are not as deep and are not localized at a very narrow range of latitudes. Should these shadows drive convection in Saturn's atmosphere, the location would likely be very much different than the near-equatorial shadow observed by the Voyagers in the early 1980s. It is possible that this very different ring shadow geometry is one reason for different morphologies of thunderstorms observed by Cassini and Voyager. Voyager observed lightning apparently from one persistent, low-latitude storm system, whereas Cassini observes lightning from storms which seem to come and go on time scales of a day or so, and perhaps from more than one storm system at a time.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radio and plasma wave science team is based at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/plasma-wave/cassini/home.html.

Voir l'image PIA06415: Saturn's Ring Shadow, Then and Now sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05383: Blue Saturn

Bands and spots in Saturn's atmosphere, including a dark band south of the equator with a scalloped border, are visible in this image from the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft.

The narrow angle camera took the image in blue light on Feb. 29, 2004. The distance to Saturn was 59.9 million kilometers (37.2 million miles). The image scale is 359 kilometers (223 miles) per pixel.

Three of Saturn's moons are seen in the image: Enceladus (499 kilometers, or 310 miles across) at left; Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) left of Saturn's south pole; and Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) at lower right. The imaging team enhanced the brightness of the moons to aid visibility.

The BL1 broadband spectral filter (centered at 451 nanometers) allows Cassini to "see" light in a part of the spectrum visible as the color blue to human eyes. Scientist can combine images made with this filter with those taken with red and green filters to create full-color composites.

Scientists can also assess cloud heights by combining images from the blue filter with images taken in other spectral regions. For example, the bright clouds that form the equatorial zone are the highest in altitude and have pressures at their tops of about one quarter of Earth's atmospheric pressure at sea level. The cloud tops at middle latitudes are lower in altitude and have higher pressures of about half that found at sea level. Analysis of Saturn images like this one will be extremely useful to researchers assessing cloud altitudes during the Cassini-Huygens mission.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.govand the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05383: Blue Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07648: Clear Sky on High

Feathery cloud bands fill Saturn's graceful crescent. Features in the atmosphere are visible all the way to the terminator, the boundary between night and day, where the Sun's rays are coming in almost horizontally.

Because it is possible to see down to the same level, regardless of how high the Sun is above the horizon, this indicates that the atmosphere above the clouds is relatively clear.

The dark line across the top of the image is the nearly edge-on ringplane.

The image was taken in infrared light (centered at 728 nanometers) with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 31, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 131 degrees. Image scale is 69 kilometers (43 miles) per pixel. The image was contrast enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07648: Clear Sky on High sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06469: Atmosphere Detail in Infrared

PIA08900: Rings in Orbit

High above the streamers of cloud in Saturn's atmosphere, the planet's immense ring system begins with faint, thin rings populated with dust-sized ice particles. Here, features in the D ring are visible, beginning at about 67,000 kilometers (42,000 miles) from the planet's center.

Stars trail across the background during this exposure, timed to capture the faint light from these D ring features.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 59 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 9, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08900: Rings in Orbit sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08858: Saturnian Psychedelia

PIA07524: Probing Saturn's Atmosphere

These two images, taken 10 minutes apart, demonstrate Cassini's ability to see the different depths of Saturn's immense atmosphere, using an array of specially designed spectral filters.

The image at the left was obtained using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of light at which methane in Saturn's atmosphere is moderately absorbing. The image at the right was taken in wavelengths where methane is strongly absorbing. At the more weakly absorbing wavelengths, sunlight is able to penetrate a bit deeper into the atmosphere than at the strongly absorbing ones, revealing features deeper down.

Several turbulent storms are visible in both images, indicating that these features extend from fairly deep to fairly high in the weather layer. The visible part of Saturn's atmosphere, where such storms and swirls churn, represents only a thin skin in the outermost part of the giant planet.

The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 4, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. The image at the left was obtained using a combination of filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized and infrared light centered at 705 and 728 nanometers, respectively. The image at the right was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The image scale is 73 kilometers (45 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07524: Probing Saturn's Atmosphere sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00027: Saturn - Ribbon-like Wave Structure in Atmosphere

PIA06423: Bold Saturn

PIA06610: Saturn at a Tilt

Saturn's whirling vortices and feathery cloud bands are the signs of a restless world. Cassini captured this arresting view of the giant planet scored by bold shadows cast by the rings. The rings are seen edge-on in this dramatic, artfully tilted scene.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 6, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06610: Saturn at a Tilt sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06507: Energetic Atmosphere

This stunning Cassini image shows that Saturn's atmosphere is an active and dynamic place, full of storms and powerful winds. This view is of the planet's southern hemisphere and shows dark storms ringed by bright clouds. The line along the limb of the planet is an artifact of the contrast-enhancement used to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The white churning clouds are at a latitude where winds blow to the west -- one of the few such places on Saturn. This latitude has been active since the beginning of 2004 and has been informally named "Storm Alley" by Cassini imaging scientists.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 19, 2004, at a distance of 8.3 million kilometers (5.2 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 49 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06507: Energetic Atmosphere sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05412: Southern Hemisphere in Ultraviolet

With ultraviolet eyes, Cassini gazes at cloud bands and wavy structures in Saturn's southern hemisphere. In the ultraviolet, the gaseous part of the atmosphere is bright and high clouds and aerosols tend to be dark. The Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera took the image on May 15, 2004, from a distance of 24.7 million kilometers (15.4 million miles) from Saturn through a filter centered at 298 nanometers. The image scale is 147 kilometers (91 miles) per pixel. Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05412: Southern Hemisphere in Ultraviolet sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10480: Saturn's Active Atmosphere

Saturn's high north is a seething cauldron of activity filled with roiling cloud bands and swirling vortices. A corner of the North Polar Hexagon is seen at upper left.

This view looks toward a region located about 70 degrees north of the planet's equator, in a place that receives continually increasing amounts of sunlight as Saturn's seasons change.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 25, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 541,000 kilometers (336,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 29 kilometers (18 miles) per pixel.

PIA08936: Dusky Saturn

Brooding Saturn seems to be missing its rings, but their shadows on the planet betray their presence. The inner rings are in fact contained within this scene, but they are so tenuous as to be nearly invisible.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane. Some motion is apparent in Saturn's clouds between the exposures used to create this color composite, as evidenced by the 'rainbow' effect seen here and there across the face of the planet.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 84 kilometers (52 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08936: Dusky Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06500: Saturn's Waves

This Cassini image shows beautifully the complex eddies and wave patterns in Saturn's cloud bands.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 7, 2004, at a distance of 8.9 million kilometers (5.5 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 53 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel. The image was magnified by a factor of two and slightly contrast-enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06500: Saturn's Waves sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08232: View to the North

This infrared view looks toward middle to high northern latitudes on Saturn, revealing entrancing meanders in the clouds. The cloud patterns transition from puffier looking in the south -- possibly a region of shear -- to smoother oval shapes in the north.

Cassini's view of high latitudes will improve beginning in late July 2006 as the spacecraft's orbit leaves the ringplane and is cranked up to higher inclinations.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. The view was obtained on June 30, 2006 at a distance of approximately 336,000 kilometers (209,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08232: View to the North sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05415: Atmospheric Detail in Infrared

Cassini captured intriguing cloud structures on Saturn as it neared its rendezvous with the gas giant. Notable is the irregularity in the eastern edge of the dark southern polar collar. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on May 21, 2004, from a distance of 22 million kilometers (13.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to absorption and scattering of sunlight in the near infrared by methane gas (centered at 727 nanometers). The image scale is 131 kilometers (81 miles) per pixel. No contrast enhancement has been performed on this image.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05415: Atmospheric Detail in Infrared sur le site de la NASA.

PIA02230: Northern Hemisphere of Saturn

PIA06489: Swirls Around the Middle

Saturn's bright equatorial region displays prominent swirls and eddies in this Cassini image taken on September 15, 2004.

The bright arc across the top of the image is Saturn's B ring, which was overexposed in this atmosphere-targeted image. Beneath this bright swath, the sheer C ring grants Cassini a view of thin shadows the rings cast onto the planet.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 8.5 million kilometers (5.6 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 101 kilometers (63 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06489: Swirls Around the Middle sur le site de la NASA.

PIA11216: Infrared Images of Saturn's Poles

Annotated Version

This is a side-by-side view of large cyclones at both poles of Saturn obtained by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer onboard the Cassini spacecraft.

These high-spatial-resolution polar orthographic projections of the north (left) and south (right) polar regions show rings of clouds and hazes circling the poles, as observed in the near-infrared at a wavelength of 5 micron, some seven times the reddest wavelength observed by the human eye. The resolution is 200 kilometers (149 miles) per pixel.

The left image is the first detailed image of Saturn's entire north polar region ever obtained. The movie covers a six-hour period at close range, as close as 240,000 kilometers (149,000 miles) above the clouds from a nearly-overhead viewpoint. Winds reach over 150 meters per second (325 miles per hour) at 88.3 degrees south latitude, just outside the first bright ring nearest the pole. The pole itself is covered by a small cloud some 600 kilometers (about 375 miles) wide. The cyclone reaches out some 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) from the pole, bordered by the hexagon. This hexagon is populated by fast-moving clouds which also reach speeds of over 500 kilometers per hour (300 miles per hour).

The south pole image (right), acquired just a few hours after the north polar image also shows a polar cyclone, complete with a central eye clear of clouds. This cyclone extends out some 15,000 kilometers (9,000 miles) from the pole.

At both poles, the discrete, circular and oblong clouds dotting the image are likely convective upwelling originating deep inside the planet, which help to power the cyclones. These views show clouds throughout the atmosphere, down to as deep as 125 kilometers (78 miles) below the haze. Many of the features seen are thought to be deep-level clouds of ammonia-hydrosulfide, which form at these levels and rise to higher altitudes in convective updrafts.

Normally, Saturn's internal glow illuminates Saturn's deep clouds from below, thus rendering the clouds in silhouette against this background glow. In these images, the contrast has been reversed so as to make the clouds appear more like they would look if seen in reflected sunlight. The original images obtained by infrared spectrometer show the clouds as dark features against the internal glow. The grid shows planeticentric latitudes. In this polar orthographic projection, 0 degrees longitude is toward the top, 90 degrees west longitude to the right, etc, based on the longitude system established by Voyager.

These images were obtained on June 15, 2008 (left) and June 16, 2008 (right) from distances of 602,000 kilometers (374,000 miles) and 652,000 kilometers (405,000 miles) above the clouds, respectively, and a sub-spacecraft planetocentric latitude of 73 degrees north (left) and 48 degrees south (right).

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu.

Voir l'image PIA11216: Infrared Images of Saturn's Poles sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08159: A Complex Crescent

The tilted crescent of Saturn displays lacy cloud bands here along with a bright equatorial region and threadlike ring shadows on the northern hemisphere.

Three moons are visible here. Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across) at left and faint, is aligned with the ringplane. At right are Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across, at top) and Tethys (1,071 kilometers, or 665 miles across, below Rhea).

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08159: A Complex Crescent sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07605: Mesmerizing Meanders

The thin and meandering ribbon-like filaments seen here are much like those seen in PIA07594, indicative of two-dimensional turbulence.

Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid the visibility of atmospheric features.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 20, 2005, at a distance of approximately 417,000 kilometers (259,000 miles) from Saturn using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The image scale is 21 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07605: Mesmerizing Meanders sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01273: Hubble again views Saturn's Rings Edge-on

Saturn's magnificent ring system is seen tilted edge-on -- for the second time this year -- in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope picture taken on August 10, 1995, when the planet was 895 million miles (1,440 million kilometers) away. Hubble snapped the image as Earth sped back across Saturn's ring plane to the sunlit side of the rings. Last May 22, Earth dipped below the ring plane, giving observers a brief look at the backlit side of the rings. Ring-plane crossing events occur approximately every 15 years. Earthbound observers won't have as good a view until the year 2038. Several of Saturn's icy moons are visible as tiny starlike objects in or near the ring plane. They are from left to right, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione and Mimas. "The Hubble data shows numerous faint satellites close to the bright rings, but it will take a couple of months to precisely identify them," according to Steve Larson (University of Arizona). During the May ring plane crossing, Hubble detected two, and possibly four, new moons orbiting Saturn. These new observations also provide a better view of the faint E ring, "to help determine the size of particles and whether they will pose a collision hazard to the Cassini spacecraft," said Larson. The picture was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in wide field mode. This image is a composite view, where a long exposure of the faint rings has been combined with a shorter exposure of Saturn's disk to bring out more detail. When viewed edge-on, the rings are so dim they almost disappear because they are very thin -- probably less than a mile thick.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01273: Hubble again views Saturn's Rings Edge-on sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06619: Southern Face of Saturn

Viewed nearly edge-on, Saturn's rings appear dark and pencil-thin against the backdrop of the planet's swirling clouds.

Notable here are the shadows cast by the rings onto the northern hemisphere, as well as details of the banded atmosphere, such as the bright equatorial region.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 18, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (746,000 miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers, where gaseous methane absorbs. The image scale is 67 kilometers (42 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06619: Southern Face of Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07677: Storms Embrace

Two Saturnian storms swirl in the region informally dubbed "storm alley" by scientists. This mid-latitude region has been active with storms since Cassini scientists began monitoring Saturn in early 2004.

The large storm at left is at least 2,500 kilometers (1,600 miles) across from north to south. This is bigger than typical storms in the region, which are the size of large Earth hurricanes, or about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) across. To the left, the smaller storm is about 700 kilometers (400 miles) across.

The two storms are interacting. Their threadlike arms are intertwined, and they might have merged a few days after this image was taken. See PIA06082 and PIA06083 for movies of storm activity in this region.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 9, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.2 million kilometers (2 million miles) from Saturn. The image was obtained using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 38 kilometers (23 miles) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07677: Storms Embrace sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06487: Bright Equator

Turbulent swirls and eddies mark the southern boundary of Saturn's bright equatorial band in this Cassini image taken in infrared light.

Saturn's rings stretch across the upper right portion of this view. The image was intended to show atmospheric details, and the rings are overexposed in this 22-second exposure. Looking through the gossamer C ring, thin shadows of the rings on the planet are visible at right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on September 12, 2004, at a distance of 8.7 million kilometers (5.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 103 kilometers (64 miles) per pixel. Contrast has been enhanced slightly to increase visibility of fine details.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06487: Bright Equator sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07560: Saturn and Tethys

Saturn poses with Tethys in this Cassini view. The C ring casts thin, string-like shadows on the northern hemisphere. Above that lurks the shadow of the much denser B ring. Cloud bands in the atmosphere are subtly visible in the south. Tethys is 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) across.

Cassini will perform a close flyby of Tethys on September 24, 2005.

The image was taken on June 10, 2005, in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 81 kilometers (50 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org .

Voir l'image PIA07560: Saturn and Tethys sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06114: Colorful Threads and Shadows

Saturn's faintly banded atmosphere is delicately colored and its threadbare rings cross their own shadows in this marvelous natural color view from Cassini.

The planet and its rings would nearly fill the space between Earth and the Moon. Yet, despite their great breadth, the rings are a few meters thick and in some places, very translucent. In this image, we can see through the C ring, which is closest to Saturn, and through the Cassini division, the 4,800-kilometer- (2,980-mile-) wide gap that arcs across the top of the image and separates the optically thick B ring from the A ring. The part of the atmosphere seen through the gap appears darker and more bluish due to scattering at blue wavelengths by the cloud-free upper atmosphere.

The different colors in Saturn's atmosphere are due to particles whose composition is yet to be determined.

The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 30, 2004, at a distance of 7.6 million kilometers (4.7 million miles) from Saturn. Images taken with red, green and blue filters were combined to create this color view. The image scale is 46 kilometers (28 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06114: Colorful Threads and Shadows sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08181: Storms Roll Past

Three large and impressive vortices, including two that appear to be interacting, are captured here as they swirl through Saturn's active southern latitudes.

This view shows latitudes slightly to the north of those seen in PIA08179 and was taken a few minutes prior to the left side image in that release.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image was acquired on April 15, 2006, at a distance of approximately 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 23 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08181: Storms Roll Past sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07670: Watching Saturn's Winds

Subtle features in Saturn's equatorial region and the nearly edge-on rings are captured in this view. Images like this will be carefully studied to see if changes in wind speed recorded in Hubble Space Telescope images are continuing, or whether the winds have reverted to their high-speed configuration measured by Voyager in 1981.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 6, 2005 using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers and at a distance of approximately 3 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07670: Watching Saturn's Winds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA02239: Saturn's red spot

PIA08272: Blustery Bands

The Cassini spacecraft presents a tempestuous scene in which the clouds of Saturn's bright equatorial region entwine with those in darker, southerly latitudes.

See PIA07669 for a previously released wide-angle view of Saturn using the same spectral filter.

The image was taken using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The image was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 289,000 kilometers (180,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 14 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08272: Blustery Bands sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06657: Close Look at the Pole

PIA10416: Paisley Skies

Twirling vortices swim through a vast ocean of hydrogen and helium in Saturn's far north.

This view looks toward a region at 70 degrees north latitude.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 23, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (776,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

PIA11141: Saturn … Four Years On

As Saturn advances in its orbit toward equinox and the sun gradually moves northward on the planet, the motion of Saturn's ring shadows and the changing colors of its atmosphere continue to transform the face of Saturn as seen by Cassini.

This captivating natural color view was created from images collected shortly after Cassini began its extended Equinox Mission in July 2008. It can be contrasted with earlier images from the spacecraft's four-year prime mission that show the shadow of Saturn's rings first draped high over the planet's northern hemisphere, then shifting southward as northern summer changed to spring (see PIA06606 and PIA09793). During this time, the colors of the northern hemisphere have evolved from azure blue to a multitude of muted-colored bands.

This mosaic combines 30 images—10 each of red, green and blue light—taken over the course of approximately two hours as Cassini panned its wide-angle camera across the entire planet and ring system on July 23, 2008, from a southerly elevation of 6 degrees.

Six moons complete this constructed panorama: Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles, across), Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles, across), Mimas (396 kilometers, or 246 miles, across), Pandora (81 kilometers, or 50 miles, across), Epimetheus (113 kilometers, or 70 miles, across) and Enceladus (504 kilometers, or 313 miles, across).

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured these images at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (690,000 miles) from Saturn and at a sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 20 degrees. Image scale is 70 kilometers (43.6 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA11141: Saturn … Four Years On sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05429: Frigid Ringworld

A frigid ball of gas in the blackness of space, Cassini's new home, Saturn, appears cool and serene in this natural color image. The spacecraft obtained this view as it sped outward from the planet on its initial orbit. At the left, Saturn's shadow stretches almost completely across the rings, while at the right, the planet's illuminated face appears to gaze down at the far-off Sun.

Images taken through blue, green and red filters with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera were combined to create this view. The images were taken on July 17, 2004, from a distance of about 5.8 million kilometers (3.6 million miles) from Saturn. The Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase angle of the image is 93 degrees. The image scale is 346 kilometers (215 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05429: Frigid Ringworld sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06464: South Polar Storms

PIA08883: Tempest-Tossed Saturn

The Cassini spacecraft views Saturn's southern latitudes in color, spying a great, eye-shaped vortex just northward of the south polar region. Other dark vortices, common features of Saturn's general circulation, are visible in the mid-latitudes.

Contrast in the image was enhanced to make features in the atmosphere more visible.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this near-natural color view. The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 14, 2007 at a distance of approximately 958,000 kilometers (595,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 54 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08883: Tempest-Tossed Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07645: Dione and Enceladus

This fanciful view spies the Saturnian moons, Dione and Enceladus, from just beneath the ringplane. Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) is on the near side of the rings with respect to Cassini, and Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) is on the far side.

Saturn's shadow stretches beyond the outermost reaches of the main rings, causing them to disappear at left.

The image was taken with the Cassini narrow-angle camera using spectral filters sensitive to polarized green light on Oct. 15, 2005 at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Dione and 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Enceladus. The image scale is 12 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel on Dione and 9 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel on Enceladus.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07645: Dione and Enceladus sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05389: Saturn in Color

Saturn and its rings completely fill the field of view of Cassini's narrow angle camera in this natural color image taken on March 27, 2004. This is the last single 'eyeful' of Saturn and its rings achievable with the narrow angle camera on approach to the planet. From now until orbit insertion, Saturn and its rings will be larger than the field of view of the narrow angle camera.

Color variations between atmospheric bands and features in the southern hemisphere of Saturn, as well as subtle color differences across the planet's middle B ring, are now more distinct than ever. Color variations generally imply different compositions. The nature and causes of any compositional differences in both the atmosphere and the rings are major questions to be investigated by Cassini scientists as the mission progresses.

The bright blue sliver of light in the northern hemisphere is sunlight passing through the Cassini Division in Saturn's rings and being scattered by the cloud-free upper atmosphere.

Two faint dark spots are visible in the southern hemisphere. These spots are close to the latitude where Cassini saw two storms merging in mid-March. The fate of the storms visible here is unclear. They are getting close and will eventually merge or squeeze past each other. Further analysis of such dynamic systems in Saturn's atmosphere will help scientists understand their origins and complex interactions.

Moons visible in this image are (clockwise from top right): Enceladus (499 kilometers or 310 miles across), Mimas (398 kilometers or 247 miles across), Tethys (1060 kilometers or 659 miles across) and Epimetheus (116 kilometers or 72 miles across). Epimetheus is dim and appears just above the left edge of the rings. Brightnesses have been exaggerated to aid visibility.

The image is a composite of three exposures, in red, green and blue, taken when the spacecraft was 47.7 million kilometers (29.7 million miles) from the planet. The image scale is 286 kilometers (178 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05389: Saturn in Color sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07555: Atmospheric Illusion

PIA09722: In the Boundary

A chevron-shaped pattern and bright vortices stand out in the turbulent Saturnian atmosphere. Such features are hallmarks of the boundary between alternating east-west flowing cloud bands.

The view looks toward an area about 9 degrees south of the planet's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 28, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 3.1 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 37 kilometers (23 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09722: In the Boundary sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08162: Rotating Flow

PIA06596: Such Great Heights

This close-up view of Saturn's turbulent atmosphere shows what may be two vortices interacting. Some of the bright clouds in the scene appear to be casting dark shadows, suggesting they are at higher altitude than their surroundings.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Jan. 23, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06596: Such Great Heights sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10411: Swirling Storms

A line of dark vortices charge through Saturn's "Storm Alley"—a region that has seen intensive storm activity since the Cassini spacecraft began its observations of the planet in early 2004.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 19, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 863,000 kilometers (536,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 48 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel.

PIA06598: Restless Atmosphere

Several whirling storms churn through this scene from Saturn's atmosphere, obtained by the Cassini spacecraft.

It is common on Saturn to see bright rings around dark atmospheric vortices, as in this view. The large vortex at the upper right appears to have material flowing either into or out of it.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 20 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06598: Restless Atmosphere sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08324: Pale Blue Orb

Figure 1

Not since NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft saw our home as a pale blue dot from beyond the orbit of Neptune has Earth been imaged in color from the outer solar system. Now, Cassini casts powerful eyes on our home planet, and captures Earth, a pale blue orb -- and a faint suggestion of our moon -- among the glories of the Saturn system.

Earth is captured here in a natural color portrait made possible by the passing of Saturn directly in front of the sun from Cassini's point of view. At the distance of Saturn's orbit, Earth is too narrowly separated from the sun for the spacecraft to safely point its cameras and other instruments toward its birthplace without protection from the sun's glare.

The Earth-and-moon system is visible as a bright blue point on the right side of the image above center. Here, Cassini is looking down on the Atlantic Ocean and the western coast of north Africa. The phase angle of Earth, seen from Cassini is about 30 degrees.

A magnified view of the image (see figure 1) taken through the clear filter (monochrome) shows the moon as a dim protrusion to the upper left of Earth. Seen from the outer solar system through Cassini's cameras, the entire expanse of direct human experience, so far, is nothing more than a few pixels across.

Earth no longer holds the distinction of being our solar system's only "water world," as several other bodies suggest the possibility that they too harbor liquid water beneath their surfaces. The Saturnian moon, Enceladus, is among them, and is also captured on the left in this image, with its plume of water ice particles and swathed in the blue E ring which it creates. Delicate fingers of material extend from the active moon into the E ring. See PIA08321, for a more detailed view of these newly-revealed features.

The narrow tenuous G ring and the main rings are seen at the right.

The view looks down from about 15 degrees above the un-illuminated side of the rings.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this view. The image was taken by the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Sept. 15, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Saturn and at a sun-Saturn-spacecraft angle of almost 179 degrees. Image scale is approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) per pixel.

At this time, Cassini was nearly 1.5 billion kilometers (930 million miles) from Earth.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08324: Pale Blue Orb sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06077: Ringworld Waiting

Saturn's peaceful beauty invites the Cassini spacecraft for a closer look in this natural color view, taken during the spacecraft's approach to the planet. By this point in the approach sequence, Saturn was large enough that two narrow angle camera images were required to capture an end-to-end view of the planet, its delicate rings and several of its icy moons. The composite is made entire from these two images.

Moons visible in this mosaic: Epimetheus (116 kilometers, 72 miles across), Pandora (84 kilometers, 52 miles across) and Mimas (398 kilometers, 247 miles across) at left of Saturn; Prometheus (102 kilometers, 63 miles across), Janus (181 kilometers, 113 miles across) and Enceladus (499 kilometers, 310 miles across) at right of Saturn.

The images were taken on May 7, 2004 from a distance of 28.2 million kilometers (17.6 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 169 kilometers (105 miles) per pixel. Moons in the image have been brightened for visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06077: Ringworld Waiting sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05380: Approach to Saturn

The narrow angle camera onboard the Cassini spacecraft took a series of exposures of Saturn and its rings and moons on February 9, 2004, which were composited to create this stunning, color image. At the time, Cassini was 69.4 million kilometers (43.1 million miles) from Saturn, less than half the distance from Earth to the Sun. The image contrast and colors have been slightly enhanced to aid visibility. The smallest features visible in this image are approximately 540 kilometers across (336 miles).

Fine details in the rings and atmosphere are beginning to emerge, and will grow in sharpness and clarity over the coming months. The optical thickness of Saturn's B (middle) ring and the comparative translucence of the A (outer) ring, when seen against the planet, are now apparent. Subtle color differences in the finely banded Saturnian atmosphere, as well as structure within the diaphanous, inner C ring can be easily seen. Noticeably absent are the ghostly spoke-like dark markings in Saturn's B ring, first discovered by NASA's Voyager spacecraft on approach to the planet 23 years ago.

The icy moon Enceladus (520 kilometers or 323 miles across) is faintly visible on the left in the image. Its brightness has been increased seven times relative to the planet. Cassini will make several very close approaches to Enceladus, returning images in which features as small as 50 meters (165 feet) or less will be detectable.

The composite image signals the start of Cassini's final approach to the ringed planet and the beginning of monitoring and data collection on Saturn and its environment. This phase of the mission will continue until Cassini enters orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.

For more information, see the Cassini home page, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

Voir l'image PIA05380: Approach to Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05427: South Polar Structure

Saturn's southern polar region exhibits concentric rings of clouds which encircle a dark spot at the pole. To the north and toward the right, wavy patterns are evident, resulting from the atmosphere moving with different speeds at different latitudes.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 13, 2004, from a distance of 5 million kilometers (3.1 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 29 kilometers (18 miles) per pixel. Contrast has been enhanced slightly to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05427: South Polar Structure sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08200: Saturn Aslant

This oblique view of Saturn shows what may be localized upwellings in the clouds of Saturn's southern hemisphere. Although the contrast is low, a vortex is visible near lower right.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image was obtained using the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 8, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 152 degrees. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08200: Saturn Aslant sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08358: Symmetry in Shadow

Magnificent blue and gold Saturn floats obliquely as one of its gravity-bound companions, Dione, hangs in the distance. The darkened rings seem to nearly touch their shadowy reverse images on the planet below.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 9 degrees above the ring plane. The rings glow feebly in the scattered light that filters through them.

Dione is 1,126 kilometers (700 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 75 kilometers (47 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08358: Symmetry in Shadow sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06193: The Greatest Saturn Portrait ...Yet

While cruising around Saturn in early October 2004, Cassini captured a series of images that have been composed into the largest, most detailed, global natural color view of Saturn and its rings ever made.

This grand mosaic consists of 126 images acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn's rings to the other and the entire planet in between. The images were taken over the course of two hours on Oct. 6, 2004, while Cassini was approximately 6.3 million kilometers (3.9 million miles) from Saturn. Since the view seen by Cassini during this time changed very little, no re-projection or alteration of any of the images was necessary.

Three images (red, green and blue) were taken of each of 42 locations, or "footprints," across the planet. The full color footprints were put together to produce a mosaic that is 8,888 pixels across and 4,544 pixels tall.

The smallest features seen here are 38 kilometers (24 miles) across. Many of Saturn's splendid features noted previously in single frames taken by Cassini are visible in this one detailed, all-encompassing view: subtle color variations across the rings, the thread-like F ring, ring shadows cast against the blue northern hemisphere, the planet's shadow making its way across the rings to the left, and blue-grey storms in Saturn's southern hemisphere to the right. Tiny Mimas and even smaller Janus are both faintly visible at the lower left.

The Sun-Saturn-Cassini, or phase, angle at the time was 72 degrees; hence, the partial illumination of Saturn in this portrait. Later in the mission, when the spacecraft's trajectory takes it far from Saturn and also into the direction of the Sun, Cassini will be able to look back and view Saturn and its rings in a more fully-illuminated geometry.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06193: The Greatest Saturn Portrait ...Yet sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05391: Bands of Clouds and Lace

As Cassini nears its rendezvous with Saturn, new detail in the banded clouds of the planet's atmosphere are becoming visible.

Cassini began the journey to the ringed world of Saturn nearly seven years ago and is now less than two months away from orbit insertion on June 30. Cassini’s narrow-angle camera took this image on April 16, 2004, when the spacecraft was 38.5 million kilometers (23.9 million miles) from Saturn.

Dark regions are generally areas free of high clouds, and bright areas are places with high, thick clouds which shield the view of the darker areas below. A dark spot is visible at the south pole, which is remarkable to scientists because it is so small and centered. The spot could be affected by Saturn's magnetic field, which is nearly aligned with the planet's rotation axis, unlike the magnetic fields of Jupiter and Earth. From south to north, other notable features are the two white spots just above the dark spot toward the right, and the large dark oblong-shaped feature that extends across the middle. The darker band beneath the oblong-shaped feature has begun to show a lacy pattern of lighter-colored, high altitude clouds, indicative of turbulent atmospheric conditions.

The cloud bands move at different speeds, and their irregularities may be due to either the different motions between them or to disturbances below the visible cloud layer. Such disturbances might be powered by the planet's internal heat; Saturn radiates more energy than it receives from the Sun.

The moon Mimas (396 kilometers, 245 miles across) is visible to the left of the south pole. Saturn currently has 31 known moons. Since launch, 13 new moons have been discovered by ground-based telescopes. Cassini will get a closer look and may discover new moons, perhaps embedded within the planet’s magnificent rings.

This image was taken using a filter sensitive to light near 727 nanometers, one of the near-infrared absorption bands of methane gas, which is one of the ingredients in Saturn's atmosphere. The image scale is approximately 231 kilometers (144 miles) per pixel. Contrast has been enhanced to aid visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05391: Bands of Clouds and Lace sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06523: Flowing Along

This Cassini image shows details in the swirling clouds of Saturn's southern hemisphere. Although the contrast between light and dark is low, the clouds exhibit considerable structure. At larger scales the east-west banded flow pattern of the atmosphere dominates. At small scales turbulent eddies and waves predominate.

Ring shadows and part of the sheer C ring can be seen at upper right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 24, 2004, at a distance of 7.8 million kilometers (4.8 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 92 kilometers (57 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06523: Flowing Along sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06194: Fingerprints of an Unseen Moon?

Images taken of Saturn's rings by Cassini immediately after it entered orbit around Saturn have turned up circumstantial evidence that an unseen moon may be orbiting dead center in the narrow Keeler gap in Saturn's outer A ring.

The Keeler gap, a narrow gap calculated from Cassini images to be 42 kilometers (26 miles) wide, lies approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) inside the outer edge of the A ring. Several faint discontinuities, or spikes, in the outer gap edge have been discovered in two narrow angle camera images of the illuminated side of the rings taken immediately after Saturn orbit insertion. One of these images has been mapped into a longitude-radius system, contrast enhanced and stretched by a factor of five, and is shown here. The longitudinal extent of the map is 4.6 degrees; the radial extent, top to bottom, is about 60 kilometers (37 miles). The most easily seen spikes are labeled A through J in this image.

These features are similar to the spikes protruding inward from the core of the F ring during Prometheus's passages (See PIA06143). Wisps of faint material, vaguely reminiscent of the drapes and striations seen interior to the F ring, are seen in association with, and between, some of these spikes in the Keeler gap edge. These features all move in unison at the orbital speed appropriate for particles at this location. Arguing on the basis of their similarity to the features caused by Prometheus in the F ring, it is likely that the features are caused by the passages of a yet-unseen moonlet on an eccentric orbit within the Keeler gap. The spikes are about 5 kilometers (3 miles) long. The putative moon would have a diameter of a few kilometers.

The most statistically significant characteristic spacing of the Keeler gap spikes has been found to be 199 kilometers (124 miles). A set of features with this particular wavelength, could be produced if a moon on an eccentric orbit were orbiting 21 kilometers (13 miles) away from the gap edge; i.e., dead center in the gap.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06194: Fingerprints of an Unseen Moon? sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09741: Tempest Tossed

Bright clouds twist and twirl in the fast-moving and turbulent winds in the Saturnian north. Hints of organized jets can also be seen.

This view is centered on a region 24 degrees north of Saturn's equator. Shadows cast by the rings cover the bottom of this scene.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 13, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09741: Tempest Tossed sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08332: Looking Saturn in the Eye

Click on the image for movie of
Looking Saturn in the Eye

Cassini stares deep into the swirling hurricane-like vortex at Saturn's south pole, where the vertical structure of the clouds is highlighted by shadows. Such a storm, with a well-developed eye ringed by towering clouds, is a phenomenon never before seen on another planet.

This 14-frame movie shows a swirling cloud mass centered on the south pole, around which winds blow at 550 kilometers (350 miles) per hour. The frames have been aligned to make the planet appear stationary, while the sun appears to revolve about the pole in a counterclockwise direction. The clouds inside the dark, inner circle are lower than the surrounding clouds, which cast a shadow that follows the sun.

At the beginning of the movie, the sun illuminates directly from the top, and by the end it illuminates from the left.

The width of the shadow and the height of the sun above the local horizon yield a crude estimate of the height of the surrounding clouds relative to the clouds in the center. The shadow-casting clouds tower 30 to 75 kilometers (20 to 45 miles) above those in the center. This is two to five times greater than the tallest terrestrial thunderstorms and two to five times the height of clouds surrounding the eye of a terrestrial hurricane. Such a height difference arises because Saturn's hydrogen-helium atmosphere is less dense at comparable pressures than Earth's atmosphere, and is therefore more distended in the vertical dimension.

The south polar storm, which displays two spiral arms of clouds extending from the central ring and spans the dark area inside a thick, brighter ring of clouds, is approximately 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) across, which is considerably larger than a terrestrial hurricane.

Eye-wall clouds are a distinguishing feature of hurricanes on Earth. They form where moist air flows inward across the ocean's surface, rising vertically and releasing a load of precipitation around an interior circular region of descending air, which is the eye itself.

Though it is uncertain whether moist convection is driving this storm, as is the case with Earthly hurricanes, the dark 'eye' at the pole, the eye-wall clouds and the spiral arms together indicate a hurricane-like system. The distinctive eye-wall clouds especially have not been seen on any planet beyond Earth. Even Jupiter's Great Red Spot, much larger than Saturn's polar storm, has no eye, no eye-wall, and is relatively calm at the center.

This giant Saturnian storm is apparently different from hurricanes on Earth because it is locked to the pole, does not drift around like terrestrial hurricanes and because it does not form over liquid water oceans.

The images were acquired over a period of three hours on Oct. 11, 2006, when Cassini was approximately 340,000 kilometers (210,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel. The images were taken with the wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. All frames have been contrast enhanced using digital image processing techniques. The unprocessed images show an oblique view toward the pole, and have been reprojected to show the planet from a perspective directly over the south pole.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08332: Looking Saturn in the Eye sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09900: Continuing Storm

The longest-lived continuously monitored electrical storm ever observed on Saturn continues to churn through the tempest-tossed region nicknamed "Storm Alley" because of its preponderance of storm activity.

This image of the storm was taken about five months after it was first detected by Cassini's imaging cameras and the radio and plasma wave science experiment (see PIA08410).

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about a degree above the ringplane. The bands of the ring shadows blanket the planet at the top of the scene.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 23, 2008 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (760,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 70 kilometers (43 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09900: Continuing Storm sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06589: 3D Clouds

Clouds near the boundary of day and night on Saturn show unusual three-dimensional structure in this Cassini view. At this location on the planet, the Sun is at a very low angle, causing vertical relief to become apparent. Generally, Cassini imaging scientists use specially designed spectral filters to probe the vertical structure of the gas giant's atmosphere.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Jan. 16, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn. North is to the upper right. The image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06589: 3D Clouds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06472: Dark Storms, Bright Clouds

PIA05398: Saturn's Stripes

PIA08838: Greetings from Saturn

Only Cassini could provide this enchanting, natural color view of crescent Saturn, which gazes down onto the unlit side of the planet's spectacular rings. The robotic ship plies the peaceful black seas around the ringed giant, searching for answers to the many questions posed by the inquisitive minds of Earth.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 19 degrees above the ringplane. The view of Saturn is through the dark rings at bottom; the rings cast shadows onto the northern hemisphere at top.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Nov. 4, 2006 at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 162 degrees. Image scale is 97 kilometers (61 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08838: Greetings from Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07538: Saturn's Icy Realm

Three of Saturn's icy moons are seen here, along with the magnificent water-ice rings and the cold gaseous envelope of the planet's atmosphere. Saturn's dark shadow stretches completely across the rings.

At nine and a half times farther from the Sun than Earth, Saturn inhabits the deep cold of the outer solar system. The Sun appears only 1 percent as bright there as it appears at Earth, creating an environment where ice dominates over rock.

The icy Moons visible here, from left to right are: Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles, across), Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles, across), and Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles, across).

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 1, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 139 kilometers (86 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07538: Saturn's Icy Realm sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09734: The Storms Within

The Cassini spacecraft has a peek beneath the hazes in Saturn's upper atmosphere at the swirling vortices that lurk below.

Many vortices can be seen in this image, varying in size from small to large. The largest one in this image exhibits a collar of bright clouds surrounding the central dark core.

The view is centered on a region 46 degrees south of the planet's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 12, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometers (2.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09734: The Storms Within sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06580: Mixing Saturn

Intricate undulations and swirls within the banded atmosphere of Saturn give scientists clues to the processes occurring there.

The lower part of the image shows the characteristic billows that form at the turbulent boundary between two air masses of different densities moving at different speeds. This can be contrasted with the dark band just to the north that shows linear features moving in an apparently stable region with no obvious turbulent mixing from north to south. The bright band farther north appears to have the same morphology.

At the top of the image, a dark oval-shaped storm resides in a band where a chevron pattern dominates. The chevron pattern is suggestive of a place where momentum is being redistributed in Saturn's atmosphere.

The image of Saturn's southern hemisphere was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 6, 2004, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 40 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel. Contrast was enhanced to aid visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06580: Mixing Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08263: Clouds at Dawn

Saturn's clouds billow and swirl in the turbulent zones of shear between eastward- and westward-flowing jets. This view looks toward the terminator on Saturn, where night gives way to day.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 338,000 kilometers (210,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 67 degrees. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08263: Clouds at Dawn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08347: The Lore of Saturn

The great planet Saturn reveals mysteries more profound, and stories more grand, than those occasioned by its ancient mythological namesake.

The giant planet is a moody world whose disposition appears to change with the view. Its atmosphere rages with thunderous and hurricane-like storms. Its majestic rings spin a tale of ancient collisions and cataclysm. And its moons may hold secrets to the origins of life.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 28 degrees below the ring plane.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 890 nanometers. The view was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 30, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 60 kilometers (38 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08347: The Lore of Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08892: Seeing the Storm

PIA06475: Family Portrait

A stately Saturn poses for a portrait with five of its moons in this Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera view.

Satellites visible in this image are (clockwise from upper left): Dione (1,118 kilometers or 695 miles wide), Enceladus (499 kilometers or 310 miles wide), Tethys (1,060 kilometers or 659 miles wide), Mimas (398 kilometers or 247 miles wide) and Rhea (1,528 kilometers or 949 miles wide).

The image was taken in visible red light on Aug. 1, 2004, at a distance of 7.8 million kilometers (4.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 464 kilometers (288 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06475: Family Portrait sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01954: Collage of Saturn's smaller satellites

This family portrait shows the smaller satellites of Saturn as viewed by Voyager 2 during its swing through the Saturnian system. The following chart corresponds to this composite photograph (distance from the planet increases from left to right) and lists names, standard numerical designations and approximate dimensions (radii where indicated) in kilometers:

1980S26

Outer F-ring

shepherd

120 X 100 1980S1

Leading

co-orbital

220 X 160 1980S25

Trailing

Tethys trojan

radii: 25 1980S28

Outer A

shepherd

radii: 20 1980S27

Inner F-ring

co-orbital

145 X 70 1980S3

Trailing

Tethys trojan

140 X 100 1980S13

Leading

Tethys trojan

radii: 30 1980S6

Leading

Dione trojan

radii: 30 These images have been scaled to show the satellites in true relative sizes. This set of small objects ranges in size from small asteroidal scales to nearly the size of Saturn's moon Mimas. They are probably fragments of somewhat larger bodies broken up during the bombardment period that followed accretion of the Saturnian system. Scientists believe they may be mostly icy bodies with a mixture of meteorite rock. They are somewhat less reflective than the larger satellites, suggesting that thermal evolution of the larger moons "cleaned up" their icy surfaces. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Voir l'image PIA01954: Collage of Saturn's smaller satellites sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05438: Infrared South Pole

This Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera view of Saturn's southern polar region shows interesting details in the swirling boundaries between cloud bands. Two faint spots are visible at right, north and south of the boundary of the dark polar collar. The dark spot at the bottom of the image marks the planet's south pole.

The image was taken on July 19, 2004, at a distance of 6.2 million kilometers (3.9 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter which lets infrared light pass through. The image scale is 36 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05438: Infrared South Pole sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08190: Sun Through the Shadows

The dark shadows that drape Saturn's northern latitudes are split by three familiar bright gaps. From bottom to top, sunlight passes through the broad Cassini Division (4,800 kilometers, or 2,980 miles wide), the Encke gap (325 kilometers, or 200 miles wide) and (barely visible) the Keeler gap (42 kilometers, or 26 miles wide).

It is unlikely that the shadows cast by Saturn's rings have much of an effect on the large-scale movements of the atmosphere. The dynamic clouds of this gas giant are driven by processes going on much deeper inside the planet, where sunlight does not penetrate.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The image was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 28, 2006 at a distance of approximately 377,000 kilometers (234,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 19 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08190: Sun Through the Shadows sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09864: Moons on the Move

Titan emerges from behind Saturn, while Tethys streaks into view, in this colorful scene. Saturn's shadow darkens the far arm of the rings near the planet's limb.

Titan is 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles) wide; Tethys is 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) wide.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 3 degrees above the ringplane. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 30, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 77 kilometers (48 miles) per pixel on Saturn.

PIA08952: Saturn Enhanced

Stunning details in Saturn's clouds suggest movement within bands of atmosphere. This false color enhancement makes visible an exciting level of detail in the bright and dark bands that is more easily seen at Jupiter than at Saturn.

See PIA02877 for natural and false color Cassini views of Jupiter.

Saturn's southern hemisphere seems to fade into the blackness of space in this view.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 (red channel), 890 (blue channel) and 728 (green channel) nanometers. The view was acquired on Feb. 2, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 57 kilometers (36 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08952: Saturn Enhanced sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08141: Vortices Abound

Saturn's atmosphere comes alive with a multitude of dark vortices swirling through the southern hemisphere.

Vortices are long-lived features that are part of the general circulation of Saturn's atmosphere. Vortices are thought to be caused by the shear between eastward- and westward-flowing jets -- the alternating bands flowing past each other in the atmosphere. The vortices can last for months or years and probably grow by merging with other vortices until a few dominate a particular zone of wind shear between two jets.

The vortex at upper right is one of the largest vortices on Saturn.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 3.2 million kilometers (2 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 19 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08141: Vortices Abound sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06491: Lanes of Air

This Cassini image shows mesmerizing detail in the swirls and ribbons of air in Saturn's atmosphere. The view was obtained at a distance of 8.5 million kilometers (5.3 million miles) from Saturn and is but a taste of what the spacecraft's powerful cameras will show when Cassini draws nearer to the planet. The limb of the planet is visible at lower right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 15, 2004, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 101 kilometers (63 miles) per pixel. The image was magnified by a factor of two and slightly contrast enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06491: Lanes of Air sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08876: Smooth Sailing

PIA01961: Saturn's North Temperate Belt

PIA06496: A Turbulent Interface

The southern edge of Saturn's equatorial band displays a scalloped appearance in this Cassini image, as clouds of bright material are stretched and pulled like taffy.

The shadow of Saturn's rings is visible through the thin C ring at upper right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 13, 2004, at a distance of 8.6 million kilometers (5.3 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 103 kilometers (32 miles) per pixel. Contrast was enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06496: A Turbulent Interface sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10449: Angles in the Atmosphere

In the low light near Saturn's north pole, the Cassini spacecraft captures a partial view of the planet's unique hexagonal feature. One side and two corners of the hexagon are seen at center.

Saturn's north polar hexagon was fully imaged in thermal infrared by Cassini in Oct. 2006 (see PIA09188).

The imaging cameras will see progressively more of the feature as solar illumination creeps northward with the onset of spring in the northern hemisphere.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 13, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 748,000 kilometers (465,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 41 kilometers (26 miles) per pixel.

PIA09185: Saturn's North Pole Hexagon and Aurora

This nighttime view of Saturn's north pole by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on NASA's Cassini orbiter reveals a dynamic, active planet at least 75 kilometers (47 miles) below the normal cloud tops seen in visible light. Clearly revealed is the bizarre six-sided hexagon feature present at the north pole.

This image is one of the first clear images of the north polar region ever acquired from a unique polar perspective. In this image, the blue color shows high-altitude emissions from atmospheric molecules excited by charged particles smashing into the atmosphere along Saturn's powerful magnetic field lines, producing the aurora at very high altitudes in Saturn's atmosphere. The red color indicates the amount of 5-micron wavelength radiation, or heat, generated in the depths of the warm interior of Saturn that escapes the planet. Clouds blocking this light are revealed as silhouettes against the background thermal glow of the planet.

This image is among the first to capture the entire hexagonal feature and north polar region in one shot. It is also one of the first polar views using Saturn's thermal glow at 5 microns (seven times the wavelength visible to the human eye) as the light source. This allows polar cloud features to be revealed during the persistent nighttime conditions under way during north polar winter.

The hexagonal feature was originally discovered by NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1980, but those images and subsequent ground-based telescope images suffered from poor viewing perspectives, which placed the feature and the north pole at the extreme northern limb (edge) in those images.

The strong brightness of the hexagon feature indicates that it is primarily a clearing in the clouds, which extends deep into the atmosphere, at least down to the 3-bar (3-Earth atmospheres pressure) level, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) below the clouds and hazes seen in visible wavelengths. Thick clouds border both sides of the narrow feature, as indicated by the adjacent dark lanes paralleling the bright hexagon. This image and other images acquired over a 12-day period between Oct. 30 and Nov. 11, 2006, show that the feature is nearly stationary, and likely is an unusually strong pole-encircling planetary wave that extends deep into the atmosphere.

This image was acquired by the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on Oct. 29, 2006, from an average distance of 905,000 kilometers (562,340 miles) above the clouds.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, where this image was produced.

Voir l'image PIA09185: Saturn's North Pole Hexagon and Aurora sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07666: Mimas...and Titan Beyond

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and Mimas, closer but much smaller on the right, are seen together in this view from Cassini. Titan's gravity is weaker than Earth's, so the moon's atmosphere is quite extended --- a quality hinted at in this view.

Part of Mimas' dark side is illuminated by reflected light from nearby Saturn.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 3, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.6 million kilometers (2.2 million miles) from Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) and 2.5 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) from Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across). Both moons are seen at a Sun-moon-spacecraft angle, or phase angle, of 110 degrees. The image scale is 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel on Titan and 15 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel on Mimas.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07666: Mimas...and Titan Beyond sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01966: Saturn and its ring system

PIA03156: A Change of Seasons on Saturn

Looming like a giant flying saucer in our outer solar system, Saturn puts on a show as the planet and its magnificent ring system nod majestically over the course of its 29-year journey around the Sun. These Hubble Space Telescope images, captured from 1996 to 2000, show Saturn's rings open up from just past edge-on to nearly fully open as it moves from autumn towards winter in its Northern Hemisphere (For individual images see:PIA03158, PIA03159, PIA03160, PIA03161, and PIA03162.

These images of Saturn were taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 onboard Hubble.

Voir l'image PIA03156: A Change of Seasons on Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10435: Racing 'Round the North

The Cassini spacecraft studies the dynamics of Saturn's blustery cloud bands as spring approaches in the northern hemisphere.

Janus casts its shadow onto Saturn at right, just above the curving shadow of the rings.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 9 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 19, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (786,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 72 kilometers (45 miles) per pixel.

PIA08197: A Moon's Telltale Tail

The plumes of Enceladus continue to gush icy particles into Saturn orbit, making this little moon one of a select group of geologically active bodies in the solar system.

Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) is seen here against the night side of Saturn. The extended exposure time used to image the plumes also makes the southern hemisphere, illuminated by ring-shine, appear bright.

The image was acquired in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 4, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Enceladus and 2.3 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn. The image was taken at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 159 degrees. Image scale is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel on Enceladus.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08197: A Moon's Telltale Tail sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06498: Eye of the Storm

Cassini caught this intriguing view of a dark storm near the limb of Saturn on Sept. 9, 2004. The image shows a great deal of detail in the gas giant's turbulent atmosphere.

The bright triangle at right is an overexposed part of Saturn's A ring, with the F ring faintly visible beneath.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 8.8 million kilometers (5.5 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light. The image scale is 104 kilometers (65 miles) per pixel. The image was magnified by a factor of two and slightly contrast-enhanced to improve visibility of features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06498: Eye of the Storm sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06511: Shadow of the Rings

PIA03158: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 1996

These images of Saturn were taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 onboard Hubble.

Voir l'image PIA03158: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 1996 sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06606: Serenity of Saturn

As if drawn by an artist, this sublime scene speaks of the powerful beauty in the outer solar system: the domain of giant planets encircled by rings and orbited by small cratered moons of ice. In this view, Dione (1,118 kilometers, or 695 miles across, on the left) and Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across, on the right) orbit the mighty ringed planet Saturn, while two bright storms swirl in the atmosphere below. This vantage point shows that the deceptively expansive rings are actually paper-thin in comparison--only tens of meters thick.

The image was taken in visible blue light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 28, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.6 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 154 kilometers (96 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06606: Serenity of Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05983: Saturn from Far and Near (Cassini-Huygens)

PIA08199: Scattered Ice, Scattered Light

An enhanced close-up view shows at least two distinct jets spraying a mist of fine particles from the south polar region of Enceladus. The particles in the plume scatter sunlight most effectively at high Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft angles, or phase angles, making the plumes appear bright.

This image shows the night side of Saturn and the active moon against dark sky. Enceladus is 505 kilometers (314 miles) across.

Some artifacts due to image compression and cosmic rays striking the camera's detector remain as noise in the image.

The image was acquired in polarized green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 4, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Enceladus and 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image was taken at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 159 degrees. Image scale is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08199: Scattered Ice, Scattered Light sur le site de la NASA.

PIA02226: Saturn - north polar region

PIA10440: Cloudflow

The Cassini spacecraft observes wispy whorls and streams of clouds as they flow across the face of Saturn. A line of vortices churns across the top of the scene.

This image was taken just over an hour after PIA10437 and shows a region slightly to the southwest of the earlier view. The circular vortex seen at right in the earlier view appears in the top right corner here.

Contrast in this image was strongly enhanced.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 20, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (775,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

PIA09005: Spellbinding Saturn

As enchanting as it is scientifically intriguing, Saturn is a world of unparalleled beauty and limitless potential for learning.

Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across, at right) and Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across, at left) float across the field of view as bright clouds roll through the gas giant's skies. The rings cast dark shadows onto the planet's mid-northern latitudes.

This view looks toward Saturn from edge-on with the ringplane.

The image was taken using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light. The view was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 8, 2007 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 168 kilometers (104 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09005: Spellbinding Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06177: Saturn's Blue Cranium

Saturn's northern hemisphere is presently a serene blue, more befitting of Uranus or Neptune, as seen in this natural color image from Cassini.

Light rays here travel a much longer path through the relatively cloud-free upper atmosphere. Along this path, shorter wavelength blue light rays are scattered effectively by gases in the atmosphere, and it is this scattered light that gives the region its blue appearance. Why the upper atmosphere in the northern hemisphere is so cloud-free is not known, but may be related to colder temperatures brought on by the ring shadows cast there.

Shadows cast by the rings surround the pole, looking almost like dark atmospheric bands. The ring shadows at higher latitudes correspond to locations on the ringplane that are farther from the planet--in other words, the northernmost ring shadow in this view is made by the outer edge of the A ring.

Spots of bright clouds also are visible throughout the region. This view is similar to an infrared image obtained by Cassini at nearly the same time (see PIA06567). The infrared view shows a great deal more detail in the planet's atmosphere, however.

Images obtained using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this color view. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera on Dec. 14, 2004, at a distance of 719,200 kilometers (446,900 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is about 39 kilometers (24 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06177: Saturn's Blue Cranium sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05403: Atmospheric Detail and Enceladus

The high clouds of Saturn's bright equatorial band appear to stretch like cotton candy in this image taken by the Cassini narrow angle camera on May 11, 2004. The icy moon Enceladus (499 kilometers, or 310 miles across) is faintly visible below and to the right of the South Pole. The image was taken from a distance of 26.3 million kilometers (16.3 million miles) from Saturn through a filter centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 156 kilometers (97 miles) per pixel. No contrast enhancement has been performed on this image.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05403: Atmospheric Detail and Enceladus sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06601: Where Clouds Meet

This Cassini image shows an assortment of vortices and wavy interfaces where air masses moving at different speeds intersect. Bright, narrow and linear cloud features of the north appear to be moving over darker clouds below. The linear pattern suggests very stable atmospheric flow conditions at these altitudes.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.4 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The image scale is 20 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06601: Where Clouds Meet sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06658: Sunlit South

PIA08821: Swirling With Shadows

This spectacular image of Saturn's clouds looks obliquely across the high northern latitudes. The Sun is low on the horizon here, making the vertical extent of the clouds easier to see. Cloud bands surrounding the vortex at lower left rise above their surroundings, casting shadows toward the bottom of the image.

Some motion blur is apparent in this view.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers on Oct. 30, 2006. Cassini was then at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 142 degrees. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08821: Swirling With Shadows sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05381: Saturn Methane Image

The Cassini narrow angle camera took this image of Saturn on Feb. 16, 2004, from a distance of 66.1 million kilometers (41.1 million miles) in a special filter which reveals clouds and haze high in the atmosphere.

The image scale is 397 kilometers (247 miles) per pixel. The MT2 spectral filter samples a near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum where methane gas absorbs light at a wavelength of 727 nanometers. In the image, methane gas is uniformly mixed with hydrogen, the main gas in Saturn's atmosphere. Dark locales are places of strong methane absorption, relatively free of high clouds; the bright areas are places with high, thick clouds which shield the methane below.

Image details reveal a high, thick equatorial cloud and a relatively deep or thin haze encircling the pole, as well as several distinct latitude bands with different cloud height attributes. It also shows a high atmospheric disturbance, just south of the equator, which has persisted throughout the 1990s in images returned by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

Four of Saturn's moons are visible (clockwise from above right): Enceladus (499 kilometers, or 310 miles across); Mimas (396 kilometers, or 245 miles across); Tethys (1,060 kilometers, or 659 miles across); and Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across). The imaging team enhanced the brightness of Mimas and Enceladus by a factor of three.

PIA09787: Northern Storms

Giant vortices swirl in the dim northern latitudes of Saturn.

The high northern latitudes are slowly coming to light as Saturn heads into northern hemisphere spring.

The view is centered on a region 59 degrees north of Saturn's equator. North on Saturn is up and rotated 29 degrees to the right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 31, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 32 kilometers (20 miles) per pixel.

PIA06624: Saturn's Smile

The ringed planet wears a broad grin in this image from Cassini, as the icy rings cast long, sweeping shadows across the northern hemisphere. Fantastic details are visible in the bright and dark of the gas giant's many cloud bands, and the thin rings slice the scene in two.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 27, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers, where gaseous methane absorbs. The image scale is 156 kilometers (97 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06624: Saturn's Smile sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10465: Saturn Gets in the Way

The Cassini spacecraft continued to track Saturn's moon Prometheus after it disappeared behind the planet, capturing a few fortunate, high-resolution views of the clouds in Saturn's high north.

PIA10463 was taken an hour earlier, just before the moon vanished behind Saturn. Later, when Prometheus reappeared from behind the planet, Cassini was waiting to take more images.

The view is centered on a region located about 70 degrees north of Saturn's equator. North is toward the top of the image and rotated 28 degrees to the right. The vortices seen here are among the swarm of bright spots seen in PIA10449, just south of the north polar hexagon.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 9, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (746,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel.

PIA08359: Pastel Planet

With pastel blues, pinks, greens and golds, Saturn displays a dazzling diversity of colors and hues.

Here, Cassini looks upward at, and through, the sunlit side of the rings from about 19 degrees below the ring plane. The small moon Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) can be spotted off the planet's western limb (edge) near the image bottom.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 3, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 60 kilometers (38 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08359: Pastel Planet sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08206: Saturn's Streamers

The long, gently meandering character of the clouds in this view is a tracer of the generally stable flow of Saturn's atmosphere. The flow is disrupted at turbulent belt-zone boundaries and, here and there, by eddies and vortices.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 11, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 147 degrees. The image was obtained using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. Image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08206: Saturn's Streamers sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05386: Merging Saturnian Storms

Three months before its scheduled arrival at Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft has observed two storms in the act of merging. With diameters close to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), both storms, which appear as spots in the southern hemisphere, were seen moving west, relative to the rotation of Saturn's interior, for about a month before they merged on March 19 through 20, 2004.

This set of eight images was taken between Feb. 22 and March 22, 2004. The top four frames span 26 days. They are portions of images from the narrow angle camera taken through a filter accepting light in the near-infrared region of the spectrum centered at 619 nanometers, and they show two storms approaching each other. Both storms are located at 36 degrees south latitude and sit in an anti-cyclonic shear zone, which means that the flow to the north is westward relative to the flow to the south. Consequently, the northern storm moves westward at a slightly greater rate than the southern one, 11 meters versus 6 meters per second (25 and 13 mph), respectively. The storms drift with these currents and engage in a counterclockwise dance before merging with each other.

The bottom four frames are from images taken on March 19, 20, 21 and 22, in a region of the spectrum visible to the human eye; they illustrate the storms' evolution. Just after the merger, on March 20, the new feature is elongated in the north-south direction, with bright clouds on either end. Two days later, on March 22, the storm has settled into a more circular shape, and the bright clouds have spread around the circumference to form a halo. Whether the bright clouds are particles of a different composition or simply at a different altitude is uncertain.

The new storm is a few tenths of a degree farther south than either of its progenitors. There, its westward velocity is weaker, and it is almost stationary relative to the planet's rotation. Although these particular storms move slowly west, storms at Saturn's equator move east at speeds up to 450 meters per second (1,000 mph), which is 10 times the speed of Earth's jet streams and three times greater than the equatorial winds on Jupiter. Saturn is the windiest planet in the solar system, which is another mystery of the ringed giant. The image scale ranges from 381 kilometers (237 miles) to 300 kilometers (186 miles) per pixel. All images have been processed to enhance visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05386: Merging Saturnian Storms sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09910: Deep Clouds

Bright puffs and ribbons of cloud drift lazily through Saturn's murky skies. In contrast to the bold red, orange and white clouds of Jupiter, Saturn's clouds are overlain by a thick layer of haze.

The visible cloud tops on Saturn are deeper in its atmosphere due to the planet's cooler temperatures.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 18 degrees above the ringplane. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 15, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (906,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 84 kilometers (52 miles) per pixel.

PIA05388: Four Ways to See Saturn

A montage of Cassini images, taken in four different regions of the spectrum from ultraviolet to near-infrared, demonstrates that there is more to Saturn than meets the eye.

The pictures show the effects of absorption and scattering of light at different wavelengths by both atmospheric gas and clouds of differing heights and thicknesses. They also show absorption of light by colored particles mixed with white ammonia clouds in the planet's atmosphere. Contrast has been enhanced to aid visibility of the atmosphere.

Cassini's narrow-angle camera took these four images over a period of 20 minutes on April 3, 2004, when the spacecraft was 44.5 million kilometers (27.7 million miles) from the planet. The image scale is approximately 267 kilometers (166 miles) per pixel. All four images show the same face of Saturn.

In the upper left image, Saturn is seen in ultraviolet wavelengths (298 nanometers); at upper right, in visible blue wavelengths (440 nanometers); at lower left, in far red wavelengths just beyond the visible-light spectrum (727 nanometers; and at lower right, in near-infrared wavelengths (930 nanometers).

The sliver of light seen in the northern hemisphere appears bright in the ultraviolet and blue (top images) and is nearly invisible at longer wavelengths (bottom images). The clouds in this part of the northern hemisphere are deep, and sunlight is illuminating only the cloud-free upper atmosphere. The shorter wavelengths are consequently scattered by the gas and make the illuminated atmosphere bright, while the longer wavelengths are absorbed by methane.

Saturn's rings also appear noticeably different from image to image, whose exposure times range from two to 46 seconds. The rings appear dark in the 46-second ultraviolet image because they inherently reflect little light at these wavelengths. The differences at other wavelengths are mostly due to the differences in exposure times.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05388: Four Ways to See Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10534: Swirls

PIA08854: World of Swirl

The clouds of Saturn swirl, billow and merge. These bands are layered into stratified cloud decks consisting of droplets of ammonia, ammonium hydrosulfide and water set aloft in a sea of hydrogen and helium.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. Cassini's specialized camera filters allow unparalleled views of Saturn's raging, banded atmosphere.

Cassini obtained the image on Dec. 1, 2006 at a distance of approximately 856,000 kilometers (532,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 48 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08854: World of Swirl sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07585: Image Compression

This infrared view of Saturn's southern hemisphere shows the bright, high altitude equatorial band at the top, and the now familiar dark bull's-eye that marks the planet's south pole. At the mid-latitudes in between, several storms swirl across the planet.

This image was taken using a compression scheme that allows more images to be taken by Cassini. They are stored on its flight data recorder, which has limited space - at the expense of some data quality. Due to the compression, the image retains a blocky, or "pixilated," quality after enhancement. Despite these artifacts, such compression can be useful for increasing the number of images that can be taken and relayed back to Earth.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 31, 2005, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 35 degrees. Resolution in the original image was 77 kilometers (48 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07585: Image Compression sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06462: South Polar Features

Wavy bands of clouds near Saturn's south pole dominate this ultraviolet image from the Cassini spacecraft. A bright wedge is visible near the lower left limb (apparent edge) of the planet. That wedge falls in a latitude band that borders a darker latitude band a little closer to the pole.

Viewing the limb of the planet in ultraviolet light allows researchers to sample the high part of the atmosphere (the stratosphere). Imaging scientists can discern from this image that the stratosphere in this latitude band is relatively pure hydrogen and helium and contains very little stratospheric haze, which causes darkening closer to the pole.

The image was taken on July 22, 2004, from a distance of 6.7 million kilometers (4.1 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 79 kilometers (49 miles) per pixel. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06462: South Polar Features sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08274: Long-lived Vortices

With no solid land to obstruct their progress, dark vortices often roll through Saturn's atmosphere for months or years, before merging with other vortices. On Earth, the continents usually halt the progress of large storms, like hurricanes.

Vortices like these are part of the general circulation pattern of east-west flowing cloud bands, called jets, on Saturn.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. The image was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 259,000 kilometers (161,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 12 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08274: Long-lived Vortices sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06546: Nope, Not Jupiter!

Saturn, more bland in appearance than Jupiter to the naked eye, puts on a dramatic display in this contrast-enhanced image taken with the Cassini spacecraft. This view shows a giant oval in the ringed planet's southern hemisphere that is somewhat smaller than, but resembles in appearance, Jupiter's long-lived Great Red Spot.

On Jupiter such southern-hemisphere features usually exhibit counterclockwise -- or anti-cyclonic -- rotation, like high pressure systems on Earth. Imaging scientists will be interested to watch the evolution of this and similar storms, to see if it is longer-lived than is typical for Saturnian storms.

Also seen in the image at higher southern latitudes are the common dark belts and bright zones, usually associated with alternating eastward and westward jets. These jets often produce boundary turbulence (like that seen toward the bottom right) due to wind shear and density differences between adjacent bands.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 6, 2004, at a distance of approximately 3.3 million kilometers (2.1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 58 degrees. The filter used is centered at 727 nanometers -- an area of the electromagnetic spectrum where methane gas is strongly absorbing. The image scale is 38 kilometers (24 miles) per pixel. This image has been slightly contrast-enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06546: Nope, Not Jupiter! sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07767: Season of Moons

This montage shows four major icy moons of Saturn that the Cassini spacecraft visited while surveying the Saturnian system during 2005. Even though all of these bodies are made largely of ice, they exhibit remarkably different geological histories and varied surface features.

Craters from meteorite impacts are common features on all of these moons. But since the major moons of Saturn are thought to have all formed at approximately the same time, the different distribution of sizes, shapes and numbers of craters on each of their surfaces tell scientists a great deal about the differences in their geologic histories.

Rhea and Iapetus are thoroughly peppered by impacts, suggesting their surfaces have been exposed to the shooting gallery of space for eons. Dione appears to have regions of terrain that are smoother, with fewer craters, suggesting a slightly younger surface. Dione also has a large system of bright, braided fractures that suggest tectonic activity took place there some time after the moon first formed.

Enceladus, however, possesses a region of terrain near its south pole (shown here), that is so dramatically devoid of impact sites that scientists suspected it was geologically active in the recent past, and perhaps even today. The discovery this year of material jetting from the pole and creating a great plume of icy particles confirmed these suspicions. See PIA07758 for images of the Enceladus plume.

The processes that power the activity on Enceladus remain elusive, as do those that produced the pronounced equatorial bulge on Iapetus. This feature was imaged for the first time by Cassini during a flyby of Iapetus that began New Year's Day. The bulge on Iapetus reaches 20 kilometers (12 miles) above the surrounding terrain in places, making it one of the tallest features in the solar system.

Like many scientific journeys, Cassini's historic survey of Saturn's moons has raised more questions. For example, why small Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) is presently geologically active while much larger Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) is not. Fortunately, such puzzles are the most exciting sort for scientists interested in uncovering the secrets of Saturn's realm.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07767: Season of Moons sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06597: Ice Orbs

In this unusual view, Cassini captured two icy moons of Saturn, Tethys and Enceladus, in a single narrow-angle frame. Little detail is visible on the surface of bright Enceladus, but battered Tethys shows many craters and the huge canyon system, Ithaca Chasma. Tethys has a diameter of 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) across, while Enceladus is 505 kilometers (314 miles) across.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 29, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3.7 million kilometers (2.3 million miles) from Tethys and 3.5 million kilometers (2.2 million miles) from Enceladus. Resolution in the original image was 22 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel on Tethys and 21 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel on Enceladus. The image has been contrast-enhanced and magnified by a factor of two to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06597: Ice Orbs sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08828: View Out the Window

PIA06656: Bending the Rings

Saturn's rings appear strangely warped in this view of the rings seen through the upper Saturn atmosphere.

The atmosphere acts like a lens in refracting (bending) the light reflected from the rings. As the rings pass behind the overexposed limb (edge) of Saturn as seen from Cassini, the ring structure appears to curve downward due to the bending of the light as it passes through the upper atmosphere.

This image was obtained using a near-infrared filter. The filter samples a wavelength where methane gas does not absorb light, thus making the far-off rings visible through the upper atmosphere.

By comparing this image to similar ones taken using filters where methane gas does absorb, scientists can estimate the vertical profile of haze and the abundance of methane in Saturn's high atmosphere.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 14, 2005, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers and at a distance of approximately 197,000 kilometers (123,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 820 meters (2,680 feet) per pixel.

Voir l'image PIA06656: Bending the Rings sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01364: Saturn taken from Voyager 2

Saturn Storms Observed by Voyager, August 5, 2004
Voyager 1 and 2 observed radio signals from lightning which were interpreted as being from a persistent, low-latitude storm system which was extended in longitude, perhaps similar to the region highlighted on this Voyager 2 image acquired on Aug. 4, 1981, from a distance of 21 million kilometers (13 million miles).

Similar lightning detections by Cassini suggest a much more variable pattern of storms which come and go on time scales of days. The differences may be explained, in part, by stark differences in the shadows cast by the rings between the Voyager and Cassini eras. This image was previously released on December 5, 1998 (see Original Caption).

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radio and plasma wave science team is based at the University of Iowa, Iowa City.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the instrument team's home page, http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/plasma-wave/cassini/home.html.

Voir l'image PIA01364: Saturn taken from Voyager 2 sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00400: Saturn and 4 Icy Moons in Natural Color

This approximate natural-color image shows Saturn, its rings, and four of its icy satellites. Three satellites (Tethys, Dione, and Rhea) are visible against the darkness of space, and another smaller satellite (Mimas) is visible against Saturn's cloud tops very near the left horizon and just below the rings. The dark shadows of Mimas and Tethys are also visible on Saturn's cloud tops, and the shadow of Saturn is seen across part of the rings. Saturn, second in size only to Jupiter in our Solar System, is 120,660 km (75,000 mi) in diameter at its equator (the ring plane) but, because of its rapid spin, Saturn is 10% smaller measured through its poles. Saturn's rings are composed mostly of ice particles ranging from microscopic dust to boulders in size. These particles orbit Saturn in a vast disk that is a mere 100 meters (330 feet) or so thick. The rings' thinness contrasts with their huge diameter--for instance 272,400 km (169,000 mi) for the outer part of the bright A ring, the outermost ring visible here. The pronounced concentric gap in the rings, the Cassini Division (named after its discoverer), is a 3500-km wide region (2200 mi, almost the width of the United States) that is much less populated with ring particles than the brighter B and A rings to either side of the gap. The rings also show some enigmatic radial structure ('spokes'), particularly at left. This image was synthesized from images taken in Voyager's blue and violet filters and was processed to recreate an approximately natural color and contrast.

Voir l'image PIA00400: Saturn and 4 Icy Moons in Natural Color sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07553: Wind World

Far above the howling winds of Saturn, its icy moons circle the planet in silence. Mimas is seen near the upper right, while Tethys hovers at the bottom. Dark shadows cast by the see-through rings slice across the northern hemisphere. Mimas is 397 kilometers (247 miles) across. Tethys is 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) across.

The dark, doughnut-shaped storm near the south pole is at least 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) across and could easily swallow any of Saturn's moons except giant Titan (5,150 kilometers, 3,200 miles across).

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 21, 2005, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers at a distance of approximately 2.2 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 53 degrees. The image scale is 125 kilometers (78 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07553: Wind World sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08357: Magnificent Vista

Cassini coasts beneath giant Saturn, staring upward at its gleaming crescent and icy rings.

A great bull's-eye pattern is centered on the south pole, where a vast, hurricane-like storm spins.

This view looks toward the lit side of the rings from about 26 degrees below the ring plane. The view was acquired about two hours prior to PIA08347.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 30, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 61 kilometers (38 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08357: Magnificent Vista sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06465: South Polar Turbulence

PIA08151: Turbulent Down South

This view of high southern latitudes on Saturn shows very linear clouds at top, usually indicative of stable prevailing winds, and two turbulent, swirling features farther south. It is possible that these features merged some time after this image was taken.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 6, 2006, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08151: Turbulent Down South sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09874: Scenic Overlook

Saturn looms large before the Cassini spacecraft, its blustery cloud bands in restless motion.

This view looks toward Saturn's mid-northern latitudes from about 37 degrees above the ringplane. Ring-cast shadows create dark bands across the planet.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 18, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (783,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 72 kilometers (45 miles) per pixel.

PIA06574: Sun-striped Saturn

In a dazzling and dramatic portrait painted by the Sun, the long thin shadows of Saturn's rings sweep across the planet's northern latitudes. Within the shadows, bright bands represent areas where the ring material is less dense, while dark strips and wave patterns reveal areas of denser material.

The shadow darkens sharply near upper right, corresponding to the boundary of the thin C ring with the denser B ring. A wide-field, natural color view of these shadows can be seen in PIA06164.

The globe of Saturn's moon Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) has wandered into view near the bottom of the frame. A few of the large craters on this small moon are visible.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Jan. 18, 2005, at a distance of 1.4 million kilometers (889,000 miles) from Saturn using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The image scale is 9 kilometers (5.5 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For images visit the Cassini imaging team home page http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06574: Sun-striped Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01275: Saturn's Rings Edge-on

In one of nature's most dramatic examples of "now-you see-them, now-you-don't," NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured Saturn on May 22, 1995 as the planet's magnificent ring system turned edge-on. This ring-plane crossing occurs approximately every 15 years when the Earth passes through Saturn's ring plane.

For comparison, the top picture was taken by Hubble on December 1, 1994 and shows the rings in a more familiar configuration for Earth observers.

The bottom picture was taken shortly before the ring plane crossing. The rings do not disappear completely because the edge of the rings reflects sunlight. The dark band across the middle of Saturn is the shadow of the rings cast on the planet (the Sun is almost 3 degrees above the ring plane.) The bright stripe directly above the ring shadow is caused by sunlight reflected off the rings onto Saturn's atmosphere. Two of Saturn's icy moons are visible as tiny starlike objects in or near the ring plane. They are, from left to right, Tethys (slightly above the ring plane) and Dione.

This observation will be used to determine the time of ring-plane crossing and the thickness of the main rings and to search for as yet undiscovered satellites. Knowledge of the exact time of ring-plane crossing will lead to an improved determination of the rate at which Saturn "wobbles" about its axis (polar precession).

Both pictures were taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. The top image was taken in visible light. Saturn's disk appears different in the bottom image because a narrowband filter (which only lets through light that is not absorbed by methane gas in Saturn's atmosphere) was used to reduce the bright glare of the planet. Though Saturn is approximately 900 million miles away, Hubble can see details as small as 450 miles across.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

PIA07671: Serenity Above, Tempests Below

Whiffs of cloud dance in Saturn's atmosphere, while the dim crescent of Rhea (1,528 kilometers, or 949 miles across) hangs in the distance.

The dark ringplane cuts a diagonal across the top left corner of this view.

The image was taken in polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 6, 2005, at a distance of approximately 3 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07671: Serenity Above, Tempests Below sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08362: Blinding Saturn

Surely one of the most gorgeous sights the solar system has to offer, Saturn sits enveloped by the full splendor of its stately rings.

Taking in the rings in their entirety was the focus of this particular imaging sequence. Therefore, the camera exposure times were just right to capture the dark-side of its rings, but longer than that required to properly expose the globe of sunlit Saturn. Consequently, the sunlit half of the planet is overexposed.

Between the blinding light of day and the dark of night, there is a strip of twilight on the globe where colorful details in the atmosphere can be seen. Bright clouds dot the bluish-grey northern polar region here. In the south, the planet's night side glows golden in reflected light from the rings' sunlit face.

Saturn's shadow stretches completely across the rings in this view, taken on Jan. 19, 2007, in contrast to what Cassini saw when it arrived in 2004 (see PIA05429).

The view is a mosaic of 36 images -- that is, 12 separate sets of red, green and blue images -- taken over the course of about 2.5 hours, as Cassini scanned across the entire main ring system.

This view looks toward the unlit side of the rings from about 40 degrees above the ring plane.

The images in this natural-color view were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera at a distance of approximately 1.23 million kilometers (764,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 70 kilometers (44 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08362: Blinding Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01272: Edge-on View of Saturn's Rings

TOP - This is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope snapshot of Saturn with its rings barely visible. Normally, astronomers see Saturn with its rings tilted. Earth was almost in the plane of Saturn's rings, thus the rings appear edge-on.

In this view, Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is casting a shadow on Saturn. Titan's atmosphere is a dark brown haze. The other moons appear white because of their bright, icy surfaces. Four moons - from left to right, Mimas, Tethys, Janus, and Enceladus - are clustered around the edge of Saturn's rings on the right. Two other moons appear in front of the ring plane. Prometheus is on the right edge; Pandora, on the left. The rings also are casting a shadow on Saturn because the Sun was above the ring plane.

BOTTOM - This photograph shows Saturn with its rings slightly tilted. The moon called Dione, on the lower right, is casting a long, thin shadow across the whole ring system due to the setting Sun on the ring plane. The moon on the upper left of Saturn is Tethys.

Astronomers also are studying the unusual appearance of Saturn's rings. The bottom image displays a faint, narrow ring, the F-ring just outside the main ring, which normally is invisible from Earth. Close to the edge of Saturn's disk, the front section of rings seem brighter and more yellow than the back due to the additional lumination by yellowish Saturn.

The color images were assembled from separate exposures taken August 6 (top) and November 17 (bottom), 1995 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera-2.

The Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2 was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science.

This image and other images and data received from the Hubble Space Telescope are posted on the World Wide Web on the Space Telescope Science Institute home page at URL http://oposite.stsci.edu/.

Voir l'image PIA01272: Edge-on View of Saturn's Rings sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08939: Candy Stripes

This strongly enhanced false color view is a departure from the familiar bluish north and golden south seen in natural color Cassini spacecraft images, but the contrast between regions north and south of the ring shadows is here more readily apparent.

The northern region is marked by a multitude of bright, patchy clouds. The region south of the ring shadows contains the bright equatorial band seen in many monochrome Cassini views taken at infrared wavelengths (see PIA07590).

Taken just minutes after PIA08936, this view makes Saturn's rings faintly visible at lower left. The false color enhancement brings out additional detail in the planet's clouds that is not visible in the natural color view.

This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 52 degrees above the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 (red channel), 752 (blue channel) and 890 (green channel) nanometers. The view was acquired on April 5, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 84 kilometers (52 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08939: Candy Stripes sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10488: Forces from the Deep

Bright, high-altitude clouds interact with dark, deeper structures near Saturn's south pole. The dark vortices near lower right are two especially large examples of such deep structures. These vortices create eddies in the higher clouds at adjacent latitudes as they pass by.

This image has been strongly contrast enhanced in order to sharpen details in the layered clouds near lower right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 27, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 457,000 kilometers (284,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 24 kilometers (15 miles) per pixel.

PIA08156: Cat-Eyed Saturn

Bright, high altitude clouds, like those imaged here, often appear more filamentary or streak-like than clouds imaged at slightly deeper levels in Saturn's atmosphere. This view also shows one of the many "cat's eye" vortices that swim through the southern latitudes.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08156: Cat-Eyed Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08187: Help from Orion

The brilliant supergiant star, Rigel, emerges from behind the haze of Saturn's upper atmosphere in this Cassini view.

Rigel is one of the 10 brightest stars in Earth's sky and forms the left foot (sometimes referred to as the left knee) of the familiar constellation Orion.

Imaging scientists use views like these to probe the vertical structure of haze in Saturn's upper atmosphere. The dimming of the star at each altitude in the atmosphere yields information on the density of the haze at that location.

The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 28, 2006 at a distance of approximately 663,000 kilometers (412,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 4 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08187: Help from Orion sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09012: Stormy Spot

PIA05414: South Pole on Saturn

Details observed in Saturn's south polar region demonstrate that this area is far from featureless. Lighter colored clouds dot the entire region, which is dominated by a central, sharply-defined circular feature. Movie sequences in which these features are captured and followed will allow wind speeds in the polar region to be measured.

This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft's narrow angle camera on May 20, 2004, from a distance of 22 million kilometers (13.7 million miles) from Saturn through a filter centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 131 kilometers (81 miles) per pixel. Contrast in the image was enhanced and magnified to aid visibility.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05414: South Pole on Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10486: The Persistent Hexagon

Saturn's north polar hexagon appears to be a long-lived feature of the atmosphere, having been spotted in images of Saturn in the early 1980s, again in the 1990s, and then by the Cassini spacecraft in the past several years.

The persistent nature of the hexagon in imaging observations implies that it is present throughout Saturn's 29-year seasonal cycle. Two sides of the hexagon are seen here.

This view was obtained from about 67 degrees above the equator. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 25, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 566,000 kilometers (352,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 31 kilometers (19 miles) per pixel.

PIA10457: Keep It Rolling

A line of vortices rolls through the turbulent region on Saturn nicknamed "Storm Alley" by Cassini scientists. This latitude band, centered around 35 degrees south, has displayed persistent, intensive storm activity since Cassini began its approach to Saturn in early 2004.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 23, 2008 at a distance of approximately 1 million kilometers (622,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 56 kilometers (35 miles) per pixel.

PIA08158: Sidelong at Saturn

The Cassini spacecraft looks toward the Saturnian horizon as Dione and Janus glide past.

A few craters are visible on Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across). Janus (181 kilometers, or113 miles across) is slightly blurred due to its motion during the exposure.

The rings appear essentially edge-on in this view, as the Cassini spacecraft continues its recent activities close to the ringplane.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 10, 2006, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The image was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08158: Sidelong at Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00026: Saturn - Brown Ovals in Northern Hemisphere

PIA06422: Pretty in Pink

PIA05413: Saturn's Atmosphere and Rings

In this image, dark regions represent areas where Cassini is seeing into deeper levels in Saturn's atmosphere. The dark regions are relatively free of high clouds and the light at these particular near-infrared wavelengths (centered at 727 nanometers) penetrates into the gaseous cloud-free atmosphere and is absorbed by methane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on May 15, 2004, from a distance of 24.7 million kilometers (15.4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 147 kilometers (91 miles) per pixel. Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05413: Saturn's Atmosphere and Rings sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10490: Change of Season

Seasonal twilight is approaching for Saturn's south polar vortex—the giant hurricane-like storm swirling around the planet's southern pole.

When the Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn in mid-2004, summer was ending in the southern hemisphere and most of the polar region south of 60 degrees latitude was in sunlight (see PIA06477). In the intervening years, Saturn has moved along in its 29-year orbit, and the Sun's rays have moved farther north. This seasonal change will eventually bring darkness to the southern poles of Saturn and its moons, but it will also bring their northern poles into the light.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 27, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 542,000 kilometers (337,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 29 kilometers (18 miles) per pixel.

PIA06517: The Storms Continue

This Cassini image shows a bright storm that appeared in mid-September at the latitude of one of the rare westward jets on Saturn. This latitude band has come to be called "Storm Alley" by Cassini imaging scientists because of the large amount of activity seen there during 2004.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sept. 18, 2004, at a distance of 8.3 million kilometers (5.2 million miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to visible blue light. The image scale is 49 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel. The mottling in the image is an artifact.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06517: The Storms Continue sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05402: Prometheus and Knots in the F Ring

Saturn's moon Prometheus is seen orbiting inside the planet's F-ring, which exhibits some of the knotted structure for which it is renowned. Near the center, separating the A and B rings is the famous Cassini division. The image was taken with the Cassini narrow angle camera on May 10, 2004, at a distance of 27 million kilometers (16.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 161 kilometers (100 miles) per pixel. Prometheus is 102 kilometers (63 miles) across. The image has been contrast-enhanced and magnified to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05402: Prometheus and Knots in the F Ring sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07669: Seeing High in the Sky

In this magnificent view, delicate haze layers high in the atmosphere encircle the oblate figure of Saturn. A special combination of spectral filters used for this image makes the high haze become visible. A methane-sensitive filter (centered at 889 nanometers) makes high altitude features stand out, while a polarizing filter makes small haze particles appear bright.

Methane in the atmosphere absorbs light with wavelengths around 889 nanometers as it travels deeper into the gas planet, thus bright areas in this image must represent reflective material at higher altitudes. Small particles or individual molecules scatter light quite effectively to a polarization of 90 degrees, which this polarizing filter is sensitive to. Thus, high altitude haze layers appear bright in this view.

The small blob of light at far right is Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across).

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 5, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 100 degrees. The image scale is 169 kilometers (105 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07669: Seeing High in the Sky sur le site de la NASA.

PIA10497: Saturn in Recline

The serene beauty of Saturn invites the Cassini spacecraft's gaze as the spacecraft hurtles through this dynamic system, studying the giant planet's rings, moons, atmosphere, and magnetosphere.

The icy moon Mimas (396 kilometers, or 246 miles across) is on the planet's near side, about 180,000 kilometers (112,000 miles) closer to Cassini than Saturn, in this scene.

The view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from less than a degree below the ringplane. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were obtained with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 22, 2007 at a distance of approximately 927,000 kilometers (576,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 56 kilometers (35 miles) per pixel.

PIA01969: Saturn and its rings

PIA05405: Storm Alley

This image shows several dark storms confined to a region below 30 degrees south latitude in Saturn's atmosphere. This turbulent region has produced quite a few storms during Cassini's approach to Saturn, including some that have merged. A number of other interesting smaller-scale atmospheric features are also becoming visible.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on May 11, 2004, from a distance of 26.4 million kilometers (16.4 million miles) from Saturn through a filter centered at 750 nanometers. The image scale is 157 kilometers (98 miles) per pixel. Contrast in the image was enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05405: Storm Alley sur le site de la NASA.

PIA03159: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 1997

These images of Saturn were taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 onboard Hubble.

Voir l'image PIA03159: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 1997 sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05982: Saturn from Far and Near (Hubble Space Telescope)

PIA08198: Curious Clouds

Saturn's atmosphere produces beautiful and sometimes perplexing features. Is the bright feature below center a rare crossing of a feature from a zone to a belt, or is it an illusion created by different cloud layers at different levels? The answer is not always easy to determine.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 12, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 145 degrees. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08198: Curious Clouds sur le site de la NASA.

PIA00030: Saturn With Rhea and Dione (true color)

PIA06497: Rounding the Rings

Cassini spied two members of Saturn's family rounding the rings in this image from Aug. 20, 2004.

The moons visible in this image are Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) near upper right, and Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) near the center, outside the faint F ring.

Three major gaps in Saturn's rings can be seen here as well. The Cassini division (4,800 kilometer or 2,980 miles wide) is the dark swath at lower right. The Encke Gap (325 kilometers or 202 miles wide) and narrow Keeler Gap (35 kilometers or 22 miles wide) are visible as dark arcs near the edge of the A ring. Small clumps of material are visible in the narrow F ring, beyond the edge of the main rings.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 9 million kilometers (5.6 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 54 kilometers (34 miles) per pixel. Atlas has been brightened to improve visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06497: Rounding the Rings sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08196: A Sight to Behold

Cassini's "eyes" -- its powerful imaging cameras -- bear witness to the majestic and spectacular sights of the Saturn system, as this views attests. Here, the probe gazes upon Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) in the distance beyond Saturn and its dark and graceful rings.

This view was taken from above the ringplane and looks toward the unlit side of the rings.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The image was obtained using the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and 4.1 million kilometers (2.6 million miles) from Titan. The image was taken at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 149 degrees. Image scale is 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel on Saturn.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08196: A Sight to Behold sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09862: The Turbulent North

PIA02284: Saturn's satellite 1980S1

PIA08191: Shadow Strands

The soft, sweeping shadows of Saturn's C ring cover bright patches of clouds in the planet's atmosphere. The shadow-throwing rings stretch across the view at bottom. The dark inner edge of the B ring is visible at top.

The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The image was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 28, 2006 at a distance of approximately 340,000 kilometers (211,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08191: Shadow Strands sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08140: Shear Zone

This atmosphere close-up shows bright clouds in Saturn's northern hemisphere being sheared apart. The clouds at the bottom of the image are tilted and stretched because the wind at those lower latitudes is moving much faster to the east than the wind at the higher latitudes near the top of the image, hence the shear.

This appearance suggests that these bright eddies are passive tracers of the atmosphere's motion -- they appear, probably as a result of upwelling due to convection from below, and then they are sheared apart.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 16, 2006, at a distance of approximately 3.3 million kilometers (2 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 19 kilometers (12 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08140: Shear Zone sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01960: Saturn's northern hemisphere

PIA06519: Stormy Weather

This Cassini view shows a bright storm that appeared in Saturn's southern hemisphere in mid-September and continued to evolve afterward. This type of storm is a good candidate source for lightning because of its sudden appearance and high level of activity. Lightning can be detected by Cassini's cameras when the spacecraft is on Saturn's night side, and by the radio and plasma wave detector on either the day or night side.

Several dark ovals to the left and right of this storm mark the sites of other storms in this turbulent westward-flowing region of the atmosphere.

The icy moon Enceladus (499 kilometers, or 310 miles, across) is visible near the bottom of the image.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06519: Stormy Weather sur le site de la NASA.

PIA03883: Artists's Conception of Cassini Saturn Orbit Insertion

PIA07629: A Privileged View

From Saturn orbit, the Cassini spacecraft provides a perspective on the ringed planet that is never seen from Earth.

In our skies, Saturn's disk is always nearly fully illuminated by the sun. From this vantage point -- nearly in the ringplane, with the sun over to the right -- the Cassini spacecraft can see both lit and dark hemispheres, with the shadow of the rings on the northern hemisphere.

Saturn's low density and fast rotation cause its shape to deviate from spherical to a pronounced oblateness, very apparent here.

The image was taken using the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera and a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image was acquired on Sept. 30, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.4 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 79 degrees. The mage scale is 139 kilometers (86 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07629: A Privileged View sur le site de la NASA.

PIA01375: Saturn's north temperate region

PIA06647: Pair to Compare

Saturn's moon Dione occults part of Saturn's distant rings while Tethys hovers below. Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across, while Tethys is 1,071 kilometers, 665 miles) across.

This image offers excellent contrast with a previously released view (see PIA06629) that showed the bright, wispy markings on Dione's trailing hemisphere. The huge impact structure Odysseus (450 kilometers, or 280 miles across) is near the limb of Tethys. Compared with the battered surface of Tethys, Dione appears much smoother from this distance.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 19, 2005, at a distance of approximately 2.7 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is approximately 15 kilometers (9 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06647: Pair to Compare sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07771: Dazzling Color

Cool and icy Dione floats in front of giant Saturn bedecked in a dazzling array of colors.

The surface of Dione, which exhibits contrasting bright and dark areas when viewed up close, appears pale in this image. It is Saturn's multi-hued cloud bands that boldly steal the show. Discrete clouds and eddies in Saturn's northern hemisphere can be seen within the faint shadows of the rings on the planet. Dione is 1,118 kilometers (695 miles) across.

Cassini is in a phase of its mission in which its orbit will be nearly equatorial for some time. This view was obtained from about one-third of a degree out of the ring plane.

Images taken with red, green and blue filters were used to create this natural-color view. The images were obtained with the wide-angle camera on Sept. 22, 2005, from a distance of approximately 803,000 kilometers (499,000 miles) from Dione and at a sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of about 43 degrees. The image scale is about 48 kilometers (30 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07771: Dazzling Color sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06474: Swirls and Eddies

Saturn puts on a mesmerizing display in this image from August 7, 2004. Turbulent swirls and eddies are visible throughout the southern hemisphere. In particular, the boundary of the dark southern polar region displays a prominent oval-shaped storm near the lower right.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of 8.4 million kilometers (5.2 million miles) from Saturn, through a filter sensitive to infrared light. The image scale is 50 kilometers (31 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06474: Swirls and Eddies sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07593: Stormy Days

Cassini's prying infrared vision allows details of Saturn's storm-ridden hydrogen atmosphere to be revealed as never before.

North of the dark south polar region is what may be a "polygonal wave" structure developing in the atmosphere. Such a wave was seen in the northern polar region in images from NASA's Voyager spacecraft and had a hexagon shape that surrounded the pole.

This view has been magnified and enhanced to improve contrast in the visible features. The image was taken using a compression scheme that decreases image file size for storage onboard the spacecraft, and thus the image appears slightly blocky, or "pixelated" following enhancement.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 31, 2005, through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 752 nanometers at a distance of approximately 1.4 million kilometers (900,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 36 degrees. Resolution in the original image was 78 kilometers (48 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07593: Stormy Days sur le site de la NASA.

PIA09749: Storms on the Border

Large vortices edge their way along the turbulent boundary between east-west flowing cloud bands.

The view is centered on a region 22 degrees south of Saturn's equator.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Aug. 15, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 3.9 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 23 kilometers (14 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA09749: Storms on the Border sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05439: Ultraviolet South Pole

This ultraviolet view shows wavy cloud bands near Saturn's south polar region. Though the region has some visible features, strong contrast between light and dark cloud bands is notably absent, as are bright and dark spots.

The eye is drawn to a bright wedge near the lower-left limb (apparent edge) of the planet. That wedge falls in a latitude band that borders a darker latitude band a little closer to the pole. Viewing the limb of the planet in ultraviolet light allows scientists to study the high part of the atmosphere (the stratosphere). Scientists can discern from this image that the stratosphere in this latitude band is relatively pure hydrogen and helium and contains very little of the stratospheric haze that causes darkening closer to the pole.

This view was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 21, 2004, at a distance of 6.4 million kilometers (4 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 38 kilometers (23 miles) per pixel. The image was taken using a spectral filter centered at 298 nanometers, and reveals different details in the gas giant's atmosphere than those seen in longer wavelengths. Contrast was slightly enhanced to bring out features in the atmosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05439: Ultraviolet South Pole sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07594: "2-D" Flow

These two Cassini images taken 23 minutes apart show many vortices and turbulent wakes in Saturn's atmosphere. They also show the overall filamentary structure of the flow in the atmosphere. Many of the narrow cloud streaks that extend and curl over great distances maintain their integrity, rather than mixing with neighboring air parcels. This type of behavior is a characteristic of what scientists call "two-dimensional turbulence."

In two-dimensional turbulence, the patterns in flowing fluids, such as the gases in an atmosphere, can behave rather like the patterns seen in a thin, soapy or oily film floating on water. These systems have little relative thickness and involve very different physics than three-dimensional turbulent systems.

Contrast in the images was enhanced to aid the visibility of atmospheric features.

The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 20, 2005, at a mean distance of approximately 484,000 kilometers (301,000 miles) from Saturn. The image scale is about 26 kilometers (16 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07594: "2-D" Flow sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08894: The Center of Things

This dramatic close-up of Saturn's south pole shows the hurricane-like vortex that resides there. The entire polar region is dotted with bright clouds, including one that appears to be inside the central ring of the polar storm.

The storm was captured in a movie made from Cassini images in November 2006 (see PIA08332).

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light. The view was acquired on Jan. 14, 2007 at a distance of approximately 963,000 kilometers (598,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 54 kilometers (34 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08894: The Center of Things sur le site de la NASA.

PIA03162: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 2000

These images of Saturn were taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 onboard Hubble.

Voir l'image PIA03162: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 2000 sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05399: Storms and Feathery Clouds

PIA06586: Bound to Saturn

Saturn's complex rings are both an intriguing scientific puzzle and a supreme natural wonder. This view shows, from upper right to lower left, the thin C ring, multi-toned B ring, the dark Cassini Division, the A ring and narrow F ring.

At the bottom, Saturn's moon Mimas (398 kilometers, or 247 miles across) orbits about 45,000 kilometers (28,000 miles) beyond the bright core of the F ring. The little moon is heavily cratered and is thought to be largely composed of water ice. The bright speck just outside of (below) the F ring is the shepherd moon Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across).

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Jan. 19, 2005, at a distance of 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel. Pandora was brightened by a factor of seven to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06586: Bound to Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06557: Sideswiping Saturn

Cassini pierced Saturn's ring plane on Dec. 14, 2004, and swiped this sidelong glance at the planet and its magnificent rings. Saturn's tilt relative to the Sun throws dramatic shadows of the rings onto the planet's northern hemisphere. Details in Saturn's swirling atmosphere are also visible here.

This view looks down onto the dark side of the rings. The rings are lit from below, and both dense and empty regions appear dark, while regions of intermediate particle density are bright.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide angle camera at a distance of approximately 654,000 kilometers (406,000 miles) from Saturn through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 728 nanometers. The image scale is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06557: Sideswiping Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05430: Southern Atmosphere Detail

Details in Saturn's southern polar region highlight the often turbulent nature of the boundaries that separate the cloud bands on this swirling gaseous globe.

This image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 13, 2004, from a distance of 5.1 million kilometers (3.2 million miles). The image was taken through a filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 889 nanometers. The image scale is 30 kilometers (19 miles) per pixel. Contrast has been enhanced slightly to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05430: Southern Atmosphere Detail sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05397: Storms in Saturn's Atmosphere

This close-up of Saturn's southern hemisphere shows several dark spots huddled in the mid-latitude region. The largest of these spots is about 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) across, or about as wide as Japan is long. Also visible are light-colored, lacy cloud patterns indicative of atmospheric turbulence. The image was taken with the Cassini narrow angle camera through a near-infrared filter on May 7, 2004, from a distance of 28.2 million kilometers (17.5 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 168 kilometers (104 miles) per pixel. The image has been contrast-enhanced to aid visibility.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA05397: Storms in Saturn's Atmosphere sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08333: Saturn's Surprisingly Stormy South

These images of Saturn's south pole, taken by two different instruments on Cassini, show the hurricane-like storm swirling there and features in the clouds at various depths surrounding the pole. Different wavelengths reveal the height of the clouds, which span tens of kilometers in altitude.

The four monochrome images displayed here were acquired by the imaging science subsystem; the blue and red images in the bottom row were taken by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer.

The images are arranged in order of increasing wavelength in nanometers as follows: (top row) 460 nm, 752 nm, 728 nm; (bottom row) 890 nm, 2,800 nm, 5,000 nm.

At the center of the cauldron of storms spinning around the south pole is the south pole itself, which literally appears to be the eye of this vast polar storm system. As in a hurricane on Earth, the south polar "eye" is relatively clear of clouds and is surrounded by a wall of towering clouds that cast shadows into the center. However, while morphologically similar, it is not clear if this vortex operates in the same fashion as a terrestrial hurricane.

In most of the images, the center of the polar storm is quite dark, indicating an unusually cloud-free atmosphere in the upper skies, which are otherwise typically inhabited by bright ammonia clouds. This polar hole in the ammonia cloud layer represents the eye of the hurricane-like storm. Unusually dark clouds likely exist at the bottom of this deep hole, enhancing the murkiness there.

The first image in this montage (at upper left) shows a muted eye, due to the enhanced scattering of light from the atmosphere itself at this blue wavelength (460 nanometers), just as in the blue skies of Earth. In the last image at bottom right, the eye appears relatively bright. This image is taken at a wavelength of 5,000 nanometers, where the dominant source of light is the thermal glow of the planet itself. The bright thermal glow seen in this polar hole again shows that the eye is relatively cloud-free to unusual depths.

In the imaging science subsystem images, the eye looks dark at wavelengths where methane gas absorbs the light (728 nanometers and 890 nanometers, at upper right and lower left) and only the highest clouds are visible, confirming that the clouds within the eye are deeper than their surroundings. This effect is also seen in visual and infrared mapping spectrometer images that show gas absorption.

In the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer image taken at 2,800 nanometers, four times the wavelength of light visible to the human eye, this cloud clearing appears dark, which is consistent with the idea that the atmosphere above any distinct clouds is unusually deep there. The eye is some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) across, and is surrounded by a distinct ring of clouds some 300 kilometers (185 miles) across.

The images also indicate the prevalence of smaller but vertically well-developed storms across the entire south polar region, indicating the extent to which convection characterizes the area.

Literally hundreds of storm clouds encircle the pole, appearing as dark spots in the infrared spectrometer thermal image (red image) and as both bright and dark spots in images taken in sunlight (blue image). Each of these spots represents a storm. These pictures reveal that Saturn's south pole is a cauldron of storm activity, unlike anything ever seen on any planet.

The individual storms surrounding the pole are seen as dark "leopard spots" in the thermal image (red) taken at a wavelength of 5,000 nanometers, some seven times the wavelength of light visible to the human eye. Here, these spots are blocking the thermal light, or heat, from the interior of Saturn. The storm clouds are thus seen in silhouette against Saturn's thermal glow. The effectiveness of these clouds in blocking Saturn's interior thermal glow indicates that the storm clouds are unusually thick, extending deep down into Saturn's atmosphere, and are comprised of relatively large cloud particles, likely condensates formed in upwelling air currents.

The large number of dark, circular leopard spots at the south pole seen at 5,000 nanometer wavelength, and their correlation with the features seen in sunlight at 2,800 nanometer wavelength, indicates that convective activity extending over dozens of kilometers in altitude is surprisingly rampant in the south polar region. Why such unusual dynamics exist there is perhaps linked to Saturn's southern summer, which is the season Saturn is in now. Observations taken over the next few years, as the south pole season changes from summer to fall, will help scientists understand the role seasons play in driving the dramatic meteorology at the south pole of Saturn.

The images in this montage were acquired on Oct. 11, 2006, when Cassini was approximately 340,000 kilometers (210,000 miles) from Saturn. The original imaging science subsystem images have a scale of about 17 kilometers (11 miles) per pixel. The visual and infrared spectrometer images have a scale of about 174 kilometers (108 miles) per pixel. The images have been resized to approximately the same scale for presentation here.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu.

Voir l'image PIA08333: Saturn's Surprisingly Stormy South sur le site de la NASA.

PIA06060: Colorful Saturn, Getting Closer

As Cassini coasts into the final month of its nearly seven-year trek, the serene majesty of its destination looms ahead. The spacecraft's cameras are functioning beautifully and continue to return stunning views from Cassini's position, 1.2 billion kilometers (750 million miles) from Earth and now 15.7 million kilometers (9.8 million miles) from Saturn.

In this narrow angle camera image from May 21, 2004, the ringed planet displays subtle, multi-hued atmospheric bands, colored by yet undetermined compounds. Cassini mission scientists hope to determine the exact composition of this material.

This image also offers a preview of the detailed survey Cassini will conduct on the planet's dazzling rings. Slight differences in color denote both differences in ring particle composition and light scattering properties.

Images taken through blue, green and red filters were combined to create this natural color view. The image scale is 132 kilometers (82 miles) per pixel.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA06060: Colorful Saturn, Getting Closer sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07537: Splendid Striations

This sweeping view of Saturn's rings offers a look at how the planet's moons help shape and maintain this structure, making Saturn the jewel of the solar system.

Some of the bright lanes seen here within the main rings are due to resonances with moons such as Mimas, Janus and Prometheus, whose gravity nudges the orbits of the ring particles. These resonances can also cause dark gaps in the rings, like the Cassini Division.

Clumps are visible in both the thin, outer F ring and the ringlets within the Encke Gap; the latter is maintained by the presence of tiny Pan (20 kilometers, or 12 miles, across at left of center). The clumps result from gravitational interactions of ring particles with the small moons that orbit nearby. The structurally complex F ring is maintained by the presence of the moons Prometheus and Pandora, not pictured (see PIA06595).

Pan also creates dark wakes, which can faintly be seen here immediately interior to the inner edge of the Encke Gap.

The view is from beneath Saturn's ringplane, looking upward.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 24, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel. Contrast was enhanced to improve the visibility of faint objects in the scene.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07537: Splendid Striations sur le site de la NASA.

PIA08830: Cloud Sketches

PIA05437: Saturn in Red

PIA08210: Stirred-up Saturn

A great vortex rolls through high southern latitudes on Saturn, whirling twisted contours into the clouds. The ringed planet's uppermost clouds are thought to be composed largely of ammonia ice overlying deeper layers of ammonium hydrosulfide and water clouds.

The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 13, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 143 degrees. The image was obtained using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA08210: Stirred-up Saturn sur le site de la NASA.

PIA07703: Small-scale Details

Great, oval-shaped storms churn through Saturn's clouds in this Cassini spacecraft view of southern latitudes. The thin, linear striations in cloud features extending away from the ovals suggests that there is very little horizontal (as opposed to vertical) mixing at those latitudes.

Low contrast in the original image was enhanced to make small-scale details visible.

The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 2, 2006, at a distance of approximately 2.8 million kilometers (1.7 million miles) from Saturn. The image scale is 16 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Voir l'image PIA07703: Small-scale Details sur le site de la NASA.

PIA05406: Swirls of Clouds in Infrared

PIA10439: Dance of the Clouds

PIA05981: Saturn from Far and Near

PIA10217: Saturn's North Pole Hot Spot and Hexagon

PIA06568: Swirls in the South

PIA10442: Limb Scan

PIA05401: Two Pairs of Storms

PIA06514: Shredding a Cloud

PIA08131: Accented Vortex

PIA01269: Hubble Provides Clear Images of Saturn's Aurora

PIA06493: Saturnian Hurricane

PIA08370: At a Tilt

PIA07663: A Dark Duo

PIA01963: Large brown spot in Saturn's atmosphere

PIA09009: Flowing Gracefully

PIA09187: Spinning Saturn

PIA06494: Light and Dark Bands

PIA08873: Round Vortex

PIA05408: Mid-Latitude Storms

PIA09778: Monitoring the Maelstrom

PIA10513: Wrapped in Ribbons

PIA10437: Dual Vortices

PIA08144: The Storm Continues

PIA06470: Polar Stratosphere

PIA03161: A Change of Seasons on Saturn - October, 1999

PIA09828: Coming to Light

PIA09854: Shadowy Veil

PIA01376: Voyager 2 image of Saturn

PIA06225: Saturn Through the Haze

PIA06644: Mimas and Dione

PIA07772: The Face of Beauty

PIA07656: Storm Down Under

PIA08890: Cosmic Contrast

PIA07590: Three Views of Saturn (Animation)

PIA06477: Southern Storms and Streaks

PIA01956: Voyager 2 image of Saturn

PIA01378: Saturn's ribbonlike cloud structure

PIA10553: Stormy Pole

PIA06479: Catching Saturn's Waves

PIA01958: Saturn's northern mid-latitudes

PIA08213: The Golden Giant

PIA05434: Active Atmosphere

PIA07599: Saturnian Meteorology

PIA06631: Moons off the Port Bow

PIA09792: Shadow Spot

PIA05394: Rings and Shadows

PIA05385: Spots on Saturn

PIA09837: Above the Storms

PIA01464: Hubble Observes a New Saturn Storm

PIA07588: Vortex Variety

PIA07525: Aligned Moons

PIA08822: On High

PIA09784: Planet in Repose

PIA08202: Pattern Upon Pattern

PIA05425: Saturn in Full View

PIA09755: Whirlwinds of Saturn

PIA06627: G Ring, Brightened by Time

PIA06468: Probing Different Depths

PIA04913: Looming Saturn

PIA09893: Beauty Marks

PIA06593: Storm Factory?

PIA07806: Rhea Transits Saturn

PIA06655: Waves on Saturn

PIA10414: Chasing Away the Blues

PIA07550: Bright Bands

PIA02884: Distant Saturn Sighting

PIA06461: Waves and Curls

PIA06594: Splendid Saturn

PIA08160: Viewing Saturn from the Plane

PIA09720: Children of Saturn

PIA10413: Storms of the High North

PIA08366: Orb of Ice

PIA08410: Hissing Storm

PIA07562: Saturn's Anti-Hurricanes

PIA08155: Psychedelic Saturn

PIA06570: Feathery Belts and Zones

PIA08242: Flattened Crescent

PIA08184: Ring Moon, Ring Shadows

PIA08152: Strange Shape

PIA01383: Saturn and its satellites Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas