https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/north-pole-of-enceladus
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia21328/short-shadow
This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn's atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view was captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its first Grand Finale dive past the planet on April 26, 2017.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.
Last Updated: April 28, 2017
Editor: Brian Dunbar
North Pole of Enceladus
In the north, Enceladus' surface appears to be about as old as any in the solar system. The south, however, is an entirely different story.
The north polar area of Enceladus (313 miles or 504 kilometers across) seen here is heavily cratered, an indication that the surface has not been renewed since quite long ago. But the south polar region shows signs of intense geologic activity, most prominently focused around the long fractures known as "tiger stripes" that spray gas and tiny particles from the moon.
This view looks toward the leading side of Enceladus. North on Enceladus is up and rotated 38 degrees to the left. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 27, 2016.
The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) from Enceladus and at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 85 degrees. Image scale is 620 feet (190 meters) per pixel.
The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (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. 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, Colorado.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit
The Cassini imaging team homepage is at
Last Updated: May 3, 2017
Editor: Jon Nelson
Short Shadow
The projection of Saturn's shadow on the rings grows shorter as Saturn’s season advances toward northern summer, thanks to the planet's permanent tilt as it orbits the sun. This will continue until Saturn's solstice in May 2017. At that point in time, the shadow will extend only as far as the innermost A ring, leaving the middle and outer A ring completely free of the planet's shadow.
Over the course of the Cassini mission, the shadow of Saturn first lengthened steadily until equinox in August 2009. Since then, the shadow has been shrinking. These changes can be seen by comparing the shadow in the above view to its appearance as Cassini approached Saturn in 2004 (PIA06077), equinox in 2009 (PIA11667), and two years ago, in 2015 (PIA20498).
This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 10 degrees above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 3, 2017.
The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 760,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Saturn. Image scale is 46 miles (73 kilometers) per pixel.
The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (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. 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, Colorado.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit
https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and
http://www.nasa.gov/cassini .
The Cassini imaging team homepage is at
http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Over the course of the Cassini mission, the shadow of Saturn first lengthened steadily until equinox in August 2009. Since then, the shadow has been shrinking. These changes can be seen by comparing the shadow in the above view to its appearance as Cassini approached Saturn in 2004 (PIA06077), equinox in 2009 (PIA11667), and two years ago, in 2015 (PIA20498).
This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 10 degrees above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 3, 2017.
The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 760,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Saturn. Image scale is 46 miles (73 kilometers) per pixel.
The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (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. 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, Colorado.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit
https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and
http://www.nasa.gov/cassini .
The Cassini imaging team homepage is at
http://ciclops.org .
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Last Updated: May 15, 2017
Editor: Tony Greicius
NASA
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