Orbit Insertion Week

As Cassini approached Saturn from beneath the ring plane, the spacecraft returned ever-improving views of the rings and the planet's turbulent southern hemisphere. After a flawless engine burn, Cassini slipped gracefully into orbit, and the spacecraft turned to begin its closest-ever imaging of the planet's exquisite rings. Cassini next flew past mysterious Titan, where it peered through the moon's thick orange haze.

		Jul 3, 2004:	Titan's South Polar Clouds - This sequence of images illustrates the evolution of a field of clouds near Titan's south pole over a period of almost five hours.
		Jul 3, 2004:	Titan Map - This mosaic of images taken by the Cassini spacecraft as it approached Saturn shows the surface features of Titan, from the dark
		Jul 3, 2004:	Closing in on Titan - Titan's veil begins to lift as Cassini's cameras peer through the hazy atmosphere.
		Jul 3, 2004:	Titan's Mottled Surface - Shown here is a mosaic of Titan's south polar region acquired as Cassini passed by at a range of 339,000 kilometers (210,600 miles) on July 2.
		Jul 3, 2004:	Titan Close-up - Shown here is a blowup of a region of Titan imaged on July 2, 2004. This image was taken at a distance of 339,000 kilometers (210,600 miles) and shows brightness variations on the surface of Titan and a bright field of clouds near the south pole.

		Jul 2, 2004:	Mapping Titan's Surface - Like the mysterious dark markings on Mars that once haunted astronomer Percival Lowell, shadowy features and mysterious markins appear to stain the surface of puzzling Titan.
		Jul 2, 2004:	Saturn Movie - Dark, cyclonic ovals cruise along flowing lanes of atmosphere in this movie of Saturn's southern hemisphere.
		Apr 2, 2009:	Saturn Rings Processed #7 - This is a narrow-angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn when the spacecraft had crossed the ring plane and was looking upwards at the lit face of the rings.

		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Processed #6 - These two images, a wide angle camera image (top) and a narrow angle camera image (bottom), of Saturn's rings were taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn when the spacecraft had crossed the ring plane and was looking upwards at the lit face of the rings.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Processed #5 - This is a narrow-angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn. At this time Cassini viewed the rings from the north side.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Processed #4 - This is a narrow-angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn. At this time Cassini viewed the rings from the north side.

		Apr 2, 2009:	Saturn Rings Processed #3 - This is a narrow-angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn. At this time Cassini viewed the rings from the north side.

		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Processed #2 - This is a narrow-angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn. At this time Cassini viewed the rings from the north side.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Processed #1 - This is a narrow-angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn. At this time Cassini viewed the rings from the north side.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Pan Recovered! - n its search for diminutive moonlets embedded in Saturn's rings, Cassini has finally sighted tiny Pan, a body only 20 kilometers (12 miles) across, responsible for parting the Encke Gap in Saturn's outer A ring.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Raw #4 - This is a narrow angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn and was cruising over the rings.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Raw #3 - This is a narrow angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn and was cruising over the rings.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Raw #2 - This is a narrow angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn and was cruising over the rings.
		Jul 1, 2004:	Saturn Rings Raw #1 - This is a narrow angle camera image of Saturn's rings taken after the successful completion of the orbit insertion burn and was cruising over the rings.

		Jun 30, 2004:	Titan in Natural Color - Despite the views of Titan's surface that Cassini is able to provide, the moon remains inscrutable to the human eye.

		Jun 29, 2004:	Atlas Recovered! - As it begins its detailed survey of the Saturn ring region for new moons, Cassini has recovered the tiny moon Atlas, seen here for the first time since Voyager 1 flew past Saturn in 1980.
		Jun 29, 2004:	Ringworld Waiting - Saturn's peaceful beauty invites Cassini for a closer look in this natural color view, taken during the spacecraft's approach to the planet.
		Jun 29, 2004:	As Titan Turns - Cassini's piercing vision reveals a never-before-seen level of detail on Titan's surface as the moon executes nearly one complete rotation under the spacecraft's watchful gaze.