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Dusty D Ring
PIA 17150
Avg Rating: 8.83/10
Full Size 1020x1020:
JPEG 252 KB
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Saturn's D ring is easy to overlook since it's trapped between the brighter C ring and the planet itself. But this dusty ring has plenty to teach us. In this view, all that can be seen of the D ring is the faint and narrow arc as it stretches from top right of the image.
If all goes as planned, Cassini will pass between the D ring and Saturn in its final orbits in 2017. Scientists expect to gather unprecedented data from these orbits.
Twelve stars are also visible in this image.
This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 41 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Oct. 21, 2013.
The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.5 million miles (2.4 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 140 degrees. Image scale is 9 miles (14 kilometers) per pixel.
The Cassini Solstice Mission is a joint United States and European endeavor. 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 imaging team consists of scientists from the US, England, France, and Germany. The imaging operations center and team lead (Dr. C. Porco) are based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini Solstice Mission visit http://ciclops.org, http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Released: February 24, 2014 (PIA 17150)
Image/Caption Information |
Alliance Member Comments
I'll bet those particles have a short orbital period. sad to read the end of mission is less than 4 years away. our capable robot friend is still giving us fantastic images and wonderful science. wish it could keep going for another decade or more.
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