CICLOPS: Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for OPerationS
Postcard from the Ring Plane

Postcard from the Ring Plane
PIA 18323
Avg Rating: 10/10

Full Size 1003x1011:
JPEG 26 KB
PNG 74 KB
TIFF 1.6 MB
   On March 13, 2006 Cassini’s narrow-angle camera captured this look at Saturn and its rings, seen here nearly edge on. The frame also features Mimas and tiny Janus (above the rings), and Tethys (below the rings). “Above” and “below” the rings is mostly a matter of perspective here. All three moons and the rings orbit Saturn in roughly the same plane.

The night side of Mimas is gently illuminated by “Saturnshine,” sunlight reflected from the planet’s cloud tops.

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view, taken at a distance of approximately 1.7 million miles (2.7 million kilometers) from Saturn.

The Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on Sept. 15, 2017

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: May 7, 2018 (PIA 18323)
Image/Caption Information