As it loops around Saturn, Cassini periodically gets a good view of Saturn's moon Hyperion. Hyperion chaotically tumbles around in its orbit and is the largest of Saturn's irregularly-shaped moons. New details about this oddball worldlet will certainly come to light in September, 2005, when Cassini is slated to approach Hyperion at a distance of 990 kilometers (615 miles). Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles) across.
The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera in October 2004 and February 2005, at distances ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 million kilometers (808,000 to 994,000 million miles) from Hyperion and at Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angles ranging from 42 to 66 degrees. Resolution in the original images was 8 to 10 kilometers (5 to 6 miles) per pixel. The images have been contrast-enhanced and magnified by a factor of two 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.
This movie sequence shows highlights of the Cassini spacecraft’s Sept. 26, 2005, flyby of the odd, icy moon Hyperion.
The sequence begins with Cassini at a distance of 244,000 kilometers (152,000 miles) from Hyperion, with the irregularly-shaped moon not yet filling the frame. From this distance, Cassini can see that strange, dark-floored craters dot this little world.
As Cassini continues toward Hyperion, it becomes apparent that the steep sides of the giant impact feature at the center have a "fluted" appearance. The walls of this feature appear to have experienced landslides that have partly covered the craters lining it.
With Cassini at an altitude of 18,000 kilometers (11,000 miles) above Hyperion, the movie then zooms-in on the large crater called Meri, which itself contains several smaller craters. The rim of Meri possesses icy outcrops, while its floor is filled with landslide debris and some of the strange dark material. The image scale at this point is about 215 meters (700 feet) 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. Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles) across.
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.
This color view of Hyperion shows off the dark pits that cover this strangely shaped moon.
At 280 kilometers (174 miles) across, Hyperion is the largest of Saturn's irregularly-shaped moons. See PIA08240 for another color view.
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 narrow-angle camera on Oct. 10, 2006 at a distance of approximately 998,000 kilometers (620,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 6 kilometers (4 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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
As Cassini sped away from its close encounter with Saturn's moon Hyperion on Sept. 26, 2005, it took this parting shot of the battered moon's shadowy limb.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera at a distance of approximately 32,300 kilometers (20,000 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 127 degrees. Image scale is 192 meters (630 feet) 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. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.
Saturn's irregularly shaped moon Hyperion is completely covered with large pits from which much of its material has been blasted by impacts, never to return. The moon's surface gravity is so low that crater-ejected material often escapes Hyperion entirely.
Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across on average.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 21, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 151,000 kilometers (94,000 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 111 degrees. Image scale is 906 meters (0.6 mile) 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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
Voir l'image PIA09790: Pummeled Hyperion sur le site de la NASA.
Click on the image for movie of
Multicolor Hyperion
Saturn's moon Hyperion appears to tumble toward Cassini in this movie that shows variations in color across the moon's surface.
The movie was created from 14 frames and represents about 12 hours as the spacecraft encountered Hyperion in early 2006. Most of the observable motion is due to the spacecraft's trajectory during the flyby.
The dark areas in the bottoms of craters are seen on all parts of Hyperion.
To create the false-color view in each frame, ultraviolet, green and infrared images were combined into a single picture that isolates and maps regional color differences. This "color map" was then superimposed over a clear-filter image that preserves the relative brightness across the body.
The combination of color map and brightness image shows how colors vary across Hyperion's surface. The origin of the color differences is not yet understood, but may be caused by subtle differences in the surface composition or the sizes of grains making up the icy surface material.
Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 23, 2006, at a distance ranging from 1.3 million to 1 million kilometers (800,000 to 600,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is about 4 kilometers (2 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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
Chaotically tumbling and seriously eroded by impacts, Hyperion is one of Saturn's more unusual satellites. Scientists believe the moon to be quite porous, with a great deal of its volume being empty space.
Impact blasted Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across. Only part of the moon is visible in this image, the rest being hidden in shadow.
The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 930 nanometers. The view was acquired on Feb. 15, 2007 at a distance of approximately 224,000 kilometers (139,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 1 kilometer (3,281 feet) 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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
Quick Time Movie for PIA06243 Cassini's First Close Brush with Hyperion (Animation)
This movie sequence provides the record of Cassini's first close brush with Hyperion, Saturn's chaotically tumbling moon. As the spacecraft whizzes past, Hyperion's unusual shape is most apparent. The jagged outlines are indicators of large impacts chipping away at Hyperion's shape as a sculptor does to marble.
Hyperion's unusual dimensions are 328 by 260 by 214 kilometers (204 by 162 by 132 miles).
These Cassini images are the best views yet of one of the large, low-density objects that orbit Saturn. Hyperion is close to the size limit where, like a child compacting a snowball, internal pressure due to the moon's gravity will begin to crush weak materials like ice, closing pore spaces and eventually creating a more spherical shape.
However, this moon has a very irregular shape and preliminary estimates of its density show that it is only about 60 percent as dense as solid water ice. This suggests that much of its interior (40 percent or more) must be empty space.
The low density further suggests that Hyperion is mostly made of water ice, with a low rock and metal content. If the moon had significant higher density components, its implied porosity would be significantly higher than 50 percent. The dark material on the surface is therefore likely a minor component, possibly originating from impacts of dark material, as seen on Iapetus.
Hyperion's elliptical orbit and irregular shape influence its chaotic tumbling. Further, because it is in a resonance orbit with the giant moon Titan, impact debris ejected with sufficient energy does not come to rest again on Hyperion. Instead, debris is tugged gravitationally into Titan's orbit, where it impacts the large smoggy moon.
This series of 25 images was taken over a period of nearly two and a half days, between June 9 and June 11, 2005, as Cassini's orbit took it close to Hyperion.
Cassini will have one close, targeted flyby of Hyperion on September 26, 2005.
At the beginning of the movie Cassini was approximately 815,000 kilometers (506,000 miles) from Hyperion; at the end, the spacecraft was 327,000 kilometers (203,000 miles) distant. The closest image was acquired from a distance of 168,000 kilometers (104,000 miles). The images were taken using the narrow-angle camera and a spectral filter sensitive to ultraviolet wavelengths centered at 338 nanometers. Image scale ranges from 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel at most distant to 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) at best. The images have been enhanced to improve the visibility of surface features.
A stereo (3D) version of the image from this encounter is also available (see PIA06244).
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.
Saturn's moon Hyperion's crater, Meri, blooms in this extreme color-enhanced view. Meri is overprinted by a couple of smaller craters and displays dark material on its floor that is characteristic of many impact sites on this moon. The walls of craters seen here are noticeably smoother on their sloping sides than around their craggy rims.
This crater is also visible at lower right in the large Hyperion mosaic (see PIA07761).To create this false-color view, ultraviolet, green and infrared images were combined into a single black and white picture that isolates and maps regional color differences. This "color map" was then superimposed over a clear-filter image.The combination of color map and brightness image shows how the colors vary across the moon's surface in relation to geologic features. The origin of the color differences is not yet understood, but may be caused by subtle differences in the surface composition or the sizes of grains making up the icy soil.The images used to create this false-color view were acquired on Sept. 26, 2005, at a mean distance of 17,900 kilometers (11,100 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is about 110 meters (360 feet) 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.Saturn's impact-pummeled Hyperion stares back at Cassini in this six-image mosaic taken during the spacecraft’s close approach on Sept. 26, 2005.
This up-close view shows a low density body blasted by impacts over the eons. Scientists originally believed that the spongy appearance of Hyperion is caused by a phenomenon called thermal erosion, in which dark materials accumulating on crater floors are warmed by sunlight and melt deeper into the surface, allowing surrounding ice to vaporize away.
Cassini scientists now think that Hyperion’s unusual appearance can be attributed to the fact that it has an unusually low density for such a large object, giving it weak surface gravity and high porosity. These characteristics help preserve the original shapes of Hyperion’s craters by limiting the amount of impact ejecta coating the moon’s surface. Impactors tend to make craters by compressing the surface material, rather than blasting it out. Further, Hyperion’s weak gravity, and correspondingly low escape velocity, means that what little ejecta is produced has a good chance of escaping the moon altogether.
At 280 kilometers, (174 miles) across, Hyperion’s impact-shaped morphology makes it the largest of Saturn's irregularly-shaped moons.
Six, clear-filter images were combined to create this mosaic. Images were taken by the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera at a mean distance of about 33,000 kilometers (20,500 miles) from Hyperion and at a sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 51 degrees. Image scale is 197 meters 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.Unlike most of the dull grey moons in the Solar System, Hyperion's color is a rosy tan, as this view shows.
The origin of the moon's unusual hue is not known. Some scientists suspect the color comes from falling debris from moons further out. A similar origin has been suggested for the dark reddish material on Saturn's moon Iapetus.
Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 28, 2006 at a distance of approximately 291,000 kilometers (181,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) 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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
The tumbling and irregularly shaped moon Hyperion rotates away from the Cassini spacecraft in this movie taken during a distant encounter in Dec. 2005. A shadow closes over the large crater at bottom as the movie progresses.
Hyperion (280 kilometers, or 174 miles across) is covered with closely packed and deeply etched pits. The warming action of the Sun on water ice lying beneath a darkened layer of surface material apparently has deepened and exaggerated the depressions already created by impacts.
Cassini scientists now think that Hyperion’s unusual appearance can be attributed to the fact that it has an unusually low density for such a large object, giving it weak surface gravity and high porosity. These characteristics help preserve the original shapes of Hyperion’s craters by limiting the amount of impact ejecta coating the moon’s surface. Impactors tend to make craters by compressing the surface material, rather than blasting it out. Further, Hyperion’s weak gravity, and correspondingly low escape velocity, means that what little ejecta is produced has a good chance of escaping the moon altogether.
The movie was made from 40 images taken over about two hours as Cassini sped past the icy moon. A still image is also available (see PIA07684).
The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 23, 2005 at distances ranging from 228,000 kilometers (142,000 miles) to 238,000 kilometers (148,000 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle ranging from 77 to 86 degrees. Resolution in the original images was about 1.4 kilometers (0.9 mile) per pixel. The images have been magnified by a factor of two and 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 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.
Note: The size of the Full-Res TIFF for the still image is 610 samples x 610 lines.
The tumbling and irregularly shaped moon Hyperion hangs before Cassini in this image taken during a distant encounter in Dec. 2005. This still image is part of a movie sequence of 40 images taken over about two hours as Cassini sped past the icy moon (see PIA07683).
Hyperion (280 kilometers, or 174 miles across) is covered with closely packed and deeply etched pits. The warming action of the Sun on water ice lying beneath a darkened layer of surface material apparently has deepened and exaggerated the depressions already created by impacts.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 23, 2005 at a distance of 228,000 kilometers (142,000 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 77 degrees. Resolution in the original image was about 1.4 kilometers (0.9 mile) per pixel. The image was magnified by a factor of two and 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 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.
This unusual view of Saturn's moon Hyperion (266 kilometers, 165 miles across) shows just how strangely shaped this tumbling little moon is. Hyperion is the largest of Saturn's irregularly-shaped moons.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Dec. 10, 2004, at a distance of 3.5 million kilometers (2.2 million miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 68 degrees. The image scale is about 21 kilometers (13 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of two and 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.
Cassini caught this glimpse of Hyperion as the moon tumbled chaotically in its orbit around Saturn. Hyperion is a heavily cratered moon, and in this image it shows a dark spot that may be one of its many large craters. Hyperion's diameter is 266 kilometers (156 miles).
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on September 12, 2004, at a distance of 8.8 million kilometers (5.4 million miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft or phase, angle of 90 degrees. The image scale is 53 kilometers (33 miles) per pixel. The image was magnified by a factor of four 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.
The rugged surface of Saturn's irregular tumbling moon Hyperion is revealed in this Cassini image. Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles) across.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 23, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 42 degrees. Resolution in the original image was 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel. The image has been contrast-enhanced and magnified by a factor of three 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.
Hyperion pops into view in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
The moon looks a bit like a sponge and has unusual dimensions, 328 by 260 by 214 kilometers (204 by 162 by 132 miles).
Craters are visible on the moon's surface down to the limit of resolution in this image, which is about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) per pixel. Like a sponge, Hyperion's density seems to indicate that it is porous and much of its interior is filled with voids.
Dark material is concentrated in the bottoms of visible craters. This may have been caused by the downslope movement of material, combined with ice changing from solid to gaseous state.
The image was taken with the narrow angle camera during a distant encounter with Hyperion on June 10, 2005. It was acquired from a distance of about 176,000 kilometers (109,000 miles) using a spectral filter sensitive to ultraviolet wavelengths centered at 338 nanometers.
A separate, stereo (or 3D) version of the scene is also available (see PIA06244). A movie sequence from this encounter is also available (see PIA06243). 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 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.
This image represents Cassini's best view yet of Saturn's battered and chaotically rotating little moon Hyperion. Hyperion, pronounced "high-PEER-ee-on," is 266 kilometers (165 miles) across. Cassini was, at the time, speeding away from the Saturn system on its initial long, looping orbit. Hyperion has an irregular shape and is known to tumble erratically in its orbit. Cassini is scheduled to fly past this moon on September 26, 2005.
This image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on July 15, 2004, from a distance of about 6.7 million kilometers (4.1 million miles) from Hyperion. The Sun- Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase angle of this image is 95 degrees. The image scale is 40 kilometers (25 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four 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.
Several distinct craters on Saturn's moon Hyperion can be seen here, as well as a protruding feature, perhaps a mountain, near the center. Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles) across.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 16, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 42 degrees. Resolution in the original image was 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel. The image has been contrast-enhanced and magnified by a factor of three 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.
This stunning false-color view of Saturn's moon Hyperion reveals crisp details across the strange, tumbling moon's surface. Differences in color could represent differences in the composition of surface materials. The view was obtained during Cassini's close flyby on Sept. 26, 2005.
Hyperion has a notably reddish tint when viewed in natural color. The red color was toned down in this false-color view, and the other hues were enhanced, in order to make more subtle color variations across Hyperion's surface more apparent.
Cassini scientists think that Hyperion’s unusual appearance can be attributed to the fact that it has an unusually low density for such a large object, giving it weak surface gravity and high porosity. These characteristics help preserve the original shapes of Hyperion’s craters by limiting the amount of impact ejecta coating the moon’s surface. Impactors tend to make craters by compressing the surface material, rather than blasting it out. Further, Hyperion’s weak gravity, and correspondingly low escape velocity, means that what little ejecta is produced has a good chance of escaping the moon altogether.
Images taken using infrared, green and ultraviolet spectral filters were combined to create this view. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft's narrow-angle camera at a distance of approximately 62,000 kilometers (38,500 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 52 degrees. The image scale is 362 meters (1,200 feet) 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. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.
In this ultraviolet image of Hyperion, produced using data taken with Cassini's Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph during the September 2005 close flyby, brightness contrasts are due to both topographic and compositional variations across the surface. The brightest regions are exposed water ice in the rim of the crater that dominates the hemisphere in view.
This new ultraviolet map (left) is shown next to a previously released image (right) taken by the Imaging Science Subsystem (see PIA07761).
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 ultraviolet imaging spectrograph was designed and built at, and the team is based at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 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/home/index.cfm. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team home page is at http://lasp.colorado.edu/cassini. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
Giant craters like the one seen in this view deform the shape of Hyperion, making it the largest irregularly-shaped body in the Saturn system.
The moon has such a low density -- about half that of water -- and such low gravity that impactors tend to compress its surface, rather than excavating it, and most material that is blown outward never comes back.
Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across.
The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 23, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 318,000 kilometers (198,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) 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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
Giant pits cover the impact-eroded face of Hyperion, giving it a spongy appearance. The chaotically tumbling moon is extremely porous, like the moons orbiting in and near Saturn's rings.
Hyperion is 280 kilometers (174 miles) across.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 12, 2007 at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 46 degrees. Scale in the original image was 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel. The image was contrast enhanced and magnified by a factor of two.
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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
As it approached Saturn near the end of its second orbit, Cassini caught this view of the small, irregularly shaped moon Hyperion (266 kilometers, or 165 miles, across). The moon's long axis is nearly horizontal in this view. The image shows parts of Hyperion's day and night sides.
Hyperion is a heavily cratered body, though Cassini's cameras were not able to discern much detail from the distance at which the image was taken. The spacecraft is slated to fly past the little moon at an altitude of less than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) in late 2005, compared with a distance of 5.9 million kilometers (3.7 million miles) between Hyperion and Cassini when this image was taken.
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Sep. 29, 2004, at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 75 degrees. The image scale is 35 kilometers (22 miles) per pixel. The image has been magnified by a factor of four 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.
This extreme false-color view of Hyperion shows color variation across the impact-blasted surface of the tumbling moon.
To create this false-color view, ultraviolet, green and infrared images were combined into a single picture that isolates and maps regional color differences. This "color map" was then superposed over a clear-filter image that preserves the relative brightness across the body.
The combination of the color map and brightness image shows how colors vary across Hyperion's surface in relation to geologic features. The origin of the color differences is not yet understood, but may be caused by subtle differences in the surface composition or the sizes of grains making up the icy surface material on Hyperion (280 kilometers, or 174 miles across).
The images used to create this view were acquired using the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 28, 2006 at a distance of approximately 294,000 kilometers (183,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) 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/home/index.cfm. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
This high-resolution Cassini mosaic shows that Hyperion truly has a surface different from any other in the Saturn system.
The mosaic is composed of five clear filter images taken during Cassini's close flyby of Hyperion on Sept. 26, 2005. The spacecraft passed approximately 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the moon's surface. Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles) in diameter.
Scientists are extremely curious to learn what the dark material is that fills many craters on this oddball moon. Features within the dark terrain, including a 200-meter-wide (650-foot) impact crater surrounded by rays to the right of center and numerous bright-rimmed craters, indicate that the dark material may be only tens of meters (hundreds of feet) thick with brighter material beneath.
Scientists will also be examining Cassini's sharp views to try to determine whether there have been multiple episodes of landslides on Hyperion. Such "downslope" movement is evident in the filling of craters with debris and the near elimination of many craters along the steeper slopes. Answers to these questions may help solve the mystery of why this object has evolved different surface forms from other moons of Saturn.
The images comprising this mosaic were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera at distances ranging from approximately 8,500 kilometers (5,300 miles) to 4,600 kilometers (2,900 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 26 meters (85 feet) 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. For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.
Saturn's chaotically tumbling moon Hyperion is captured in this view. At the top is a 130-kilometer-wide (80-mile) crater seen in some NASA Voyager spacecraft images. Detecting specific features is the first step in trying to understand the current rotation state of Hyperion, compared to that at the time of Voyager. Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles) across.
This is the second-closest view of Hyperion obtained by Cassini so far. The closest view was included in a previously released montage of Hyperion images (see PIA06608, top center image).
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 19, 2005, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (824,000 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 63 degrees. Resolution in the original image was 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel. The image has been contrast-enhanced and magnified by a factor of three 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.
This image reveals the odd shape of Saturn's moon Hyperion and an intriguing variation in brightness across its surface. The diameter of Hyperion is 266 kilometers (165 miles).
The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera on Oct. 20, 2004, at a distance of about 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 50 degrees. The image scale is 13 kilometers (8 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.
