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Coasting Above the Rings "Skimming over the rings of Saturn, a sightseeing craft gazes at the chevrons on the outer edge of the B ring. Here, small moons compress ring particles as they stream by into waves of material, some 2.5 km high. In the background are (L to R) Mimas, Tethys, and Enceladus, with a tiny moon embedded in the rings just left of center. Note the geysers pouring from the south pole of Enceladus, a phenomenon discovered by Cassini's imaging team. As an artist, I've always had a love/hate relationship with those rings. All those concentric circles are enough to drive anyone crazy! But their dazzling nature, as brought out by Cassini's magical images, is just too much to pass up. For this view, I had to actually create a small sculpture--with help from Carolyn Porco--to duplicate the geometry of pointed shadows and curvilinear forms before I truly understood what those undulating fins looked like." Tradigital Painting (acrylic on canvas, augmented digitally) Michael Carroll   © 2014 Artist's Website

Saturn Ring Formation "This piece is an illustration of a theory of Saturn ring formation that was published in Nature and written by Robin Canup. A large Titan-sized moon made of ice and silicate enters Saturn's Roche limit and is torn apart. The silicate core is consumed by Saturn, but the ice remains, eventually forming the beautiful rings we see today. This is a 3D image that went through several iterations. Carolyn Porco was instrumental in providing the technical data that was needed to produce the final piece." Greg Prichard   © 2011 Artist's Website

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Formation of Saturn's Rings "An illustration depicting the break-up of an icy Saturnian satellite which, according to Robin Canup, was the origin of Saturn's rings." Ron Miller   © 2010 Artist's Website

The Ultimate Sacrifice "A Titan-sized moon passing too close to Saturn sheds its outer layers to form the planet's majestic rings." Photoshop and Lightwave 3D Steven Hobbs   © 2010 Artist's Website

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Ring Crossing "This work shows Cassini crossing Saturn's ring plane during its hazardous but necessary deceleration maneuver needed to achieve orbit around Saturn. I use Lightwave 3D (a 3D modeling program) and also Adobe Photoshop for post production." Steven Hobbs   © 2006 Artist's Website

Before Saturn Orbit Insertion "Cassini just before the start of the Saturn Orbit Insertion burn. The spacecraft is turning itself to the correct burn attitude. To better show instruments and individual components, the spacecraft is rendered without most of its thermal protection blanket." Bjorn Jonsson   © 2006 Artist's Website

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Opposition Highlight "Saturn's blue winter hemisphere is visible through the Cassini division. Also prominent is the rings' strong opposition effect, with the very bright opposition highlight visible near the outer edge of the B ring. The field of view is 50 degrees." Bjorn Jonsson   © 2006 Artist's Website

At the Edge of Saturn's Shadow "Sunlight is heavily reddened as it is filtered by Earth's atmosphere, an effect obvious from the ground as well from space. This painting shows possible lighting effects upon the rings along the edge of the planet's shadow; of similar reddening in the sunlight filtered through the atmosphere of Saturn. Oil on gessoed masonite panel." Don Davis   © 1977 Artist's Website

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Particles "I endeavor to incorporate the latest research from the scientific literature wherever possible, and this can provide the impetus for the creation of a piece. Half the fun for me is rendering those things that cannot or have not yet been directly imaged but are suspected to exist -- and this is forever changing as new results and observations become available: the art then becomes a commentary on and record of the march of scientific progress. For this piece, I thought it would be interesting to try and depict what particles in the C-ring might possibly look like. From a personal, artistic point of view, what makes the Saturn system so exciting are the fantastic opportunities for portraying the effects of direct and reflected light, as amply demonstrated in the many beautiful images coming to us from Cassini. For us artists, when Cassini's mission is over there will be a mind boggling wealth of material to inspire our creativity and spur us on to portray ever more exotic natural wonders." Garry L. Harwood   © 2004 Artist's Website

Saturn's Rings 3D "A 3D rendering visualizing the inside of the rings of Saturn, made using Electric Image Animator software and numerous models and painted textures." Don Davis   © 2006 Artist's Website

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Souls of Saturn "Just about every space artist has tried his or her hand at a view of Saturn's rings from within. I decided to give my rendering a twist. The painting was inspired by a 4000-year-old Olmec sculpture of a wrestler, whose stony face reminded me of an asteroid. His face is upside-down in the lower left corner. (Card and print available through Novaspace.)" Acrylic on canvas Michael Carroll   © 1981 Artist's Website