Tag Archive for 'Cassini'

In 2012 Cassini spotted a cloud system called the south polar vortex in Titan’s atmosphere at an altitude of about 186 miles. The spacecraft’s instrument has now detected a massive ice cloud below it. This image was taken by Cassini in 2013. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Detects Giant Cloud of Frozen Compounds on Saturn’s Moon Titan

Nov 11, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected a giant new ice cloud in low- to mid-stratosphere of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. In 2012 Cassini spotted...

$Cassini captured this image of Enceladus as it neared the moon for its closest-ever dive past the moon’s active south polar region. The image was taken in visible light with the spacecraft’s narrow-angle camera on October 28, 2015. The image shows heavily cratered northern latitudes at top, transitioning to fractured, wrinkled terrain in the middle and southern latitudes. The wavy boundary of the moon's active south polar region is visible at bottom, where it disappears into wintry darkness. This view looks towards the Saturn-facing side of Enceladus. The image was taken at a distance of approximately 60,000 miles (96,000 km) from Enceladus and at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 45 degrees. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.$

NASA Releases Stunning New Images of Enceladus

Nov 2, 2015 by News Staff

NASA has released a series of breathtaking images of Enceladus, a frozen moon of Saturn, captured by the agency’s Cassini spacecraft. Cassini captured...

This image from Cassini shows battered terrain around the north pole of Enceladus. Craters crowd and overlap each other, each one recording an impact in the moon’s distant past. The moon’s north pole lies approximately at the top of this image. North on Enceladus is up. The view was acquired at a distance of 4,000 miles (6,000 km) from Enceladus and at a Sun-Enceladus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 8 degrees. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

New Close-Up Photos of Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Released by NASA

Oct 18, 2015 by News Staff

NASA scientists have released the best views yet of the northern extremes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The images were collected as the agency’s Cassini...

Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. The shapes of moons can teach planetary scientists much about their history. This image was captured on July 26, 2015, when Cassini was nearly 904,000 miles (1.4 million km) from Mimas and 485,000 miles (781,000 km) from Pandora. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Captures Amazing View of Saturn’s Moons Mimas and Pandora

Oct 15, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

This newly released image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows two of Saturn’s moons, Mimas and Pandora, and the planet’s rings. Although Mimas and...

This global digital map of Titan was created using images taken by Cassini’s imaging science subsystem (ISS). The mean radius of Titan used for projection of this map is 1,600 miles (2,575 km). Titan is assumed to be spherical until a control network is created at some point in the future. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA Releases Updated Maps of Saturn’s Moon Titan

Oct 13, 2015 by News Staff

NASA has released a global digital map of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and two polar stereographic maps its northern and southern hemispheres. This...

This Cassini image shows the night sides of Saturn and Tethys. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Captures Dark Sides of Saturn and Tethys

Sep 17, 2015 by News Staff

This beautiful image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows the night sides of Saturn and its fifth largest moon, Tethys. This Cassini image shows the...

This illustration is a speculative representation of the interior of Enceladus with a global ocean between its rocky core and icy crust. The thickness of layers shown here is not to scale. Scientists determined that the slight wobble of the moon as it orbits Saturn is much too large for the moon to be frozen from surface to core. The wobble, technically referred to as a libration, reveals that the crust of Enceladus is disconnected from its rocky interior. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Enceladus Harbors Global Subsurface Ocean

Sep 16, 2015 by News Staff

Planetary researchers with NASA’s Cassini mission have found a large body of water beneath the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. This color view...

This composite image shows Saturn’s main rings, the F ring, and its shepherd satellites: the narrow F ring is located just outside of the outer edge of the main rings; slightly above and to the left of the center of the image are the shepherd satellites Prometheus (inner orbit) and Pandora (outer orbit). Image credit: NASA.

Saturn’s F Ring is Natural Outcome of Satellite System Formation, Researchers Say

Aug 23, 2015 by News Staff

Saturn’s F ring and its shepherd satellites, Prometheus and Pandora, are natural outcome of the final stage of formation of Saturn’s satellite system,...

This view from Cassini looks toward Dione, with giant Saturn and its rings in the background, just prior to the mission’s final close approach to the moon on August 17. The view was acquired at distances ranging from approximately 106,000 miles (170,000 km) to 39,000 miles (63,000 km) from the icy moon and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 35 degrees. At lower right is the large, multi-ringed impact basin Evander, which is about 220 miles (350 km) wide. The canyons of Padua Chasma, features that form part of Dione’s bright, wispy terrain, reach into the darkness at left. Scientists combined nine visible light images to create this mosaic view: eight from Cassini’s narrow-angle camera and one from the wide-angle camera, which fills in an area at lower left. The scene is an orthographic projection centered on terrain at 0.2 degrees north latitude, 179 degrees west longitude on Dione. An orthographic view is most like the view seen by a distant observer looking through a telescope. North on Dione is up. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Stunning Images from Cassini’s Final Close Flyby of Dione

Aug 21, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft returned new images of Saturn’s moon Dione during its flyby of 17 August 2015. The probe zoomed in as close as 295 miles...

$This image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shows a part of Dione’s surface that is covered by linear, curving features, called chasmata. The Voyager spacecrafts observed Dione in 1980 showing a complex surface structure, with wispy features on its trailing hemisphere. The nature of these features was unclear until 2004, when the Cassini spacecraft showed that they weren’t surface deposits of frost, as some had suspected, but rather a pattern of bright icy cliffs among myriad fractures. One possibility is that this stress pattern may be related to Dione’s orbital evolution and the effect of tidal stresses over time. This view looks toward the trailing hemisphere of Dione. Cassini obtained the image with its narrow-angle camera on April 11, 2015. The view was acquired at a distance of 68,000 miles (110,000 km) from Dione. North on Dione is up. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.$

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft to Make Final Close Flyby of Saturn’s Moon Dione

Aug 17, 2015 by News Staff

Cassini’s closest approach, within 295 miles (474 km) of Dione’s surface, will occur today, August 17. This flyby will be the fifth targeted encounter...

Reddish streaks cut across the surface of Tethys in this image. The streaks are narrow, curved lines on the moon’s surface, only a few miles wide but several hundred miles long. The yellowish tones on the left side of the view are a result of alteration of the moon’s surface by high-energy particles from Saturn’s magnetosphere. This particle radiation slams into the moon’s trailing hemisphere, modifying it chemically and changing its appearance in enhanced-color views like this one. The area of Tethys shown here is centered on 30 degrees north latitude, 187 degrees west longitude, and measures 305 by 258 miles (490 by 415 km) across. The original color images were obtained at a resolution of about 2,300 feet (700 m) per pixel on April 11, 2015. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Spots Strange Red ‘Arcs’ on Saturn’s Moon Tethys

Jul 30, 2015 by News Staff

This enhanced-color mosaic of Tethys shows a range of features including mysterious arc-shaped streaks. This mosaic of Tethys is an orthographic projection...

Several images taken using green, UV and IR spectral filters were combined to create this color view of Tethys. The moon’s dark side is faintly illuminated by reflected light from Saturn. North on Tethys is up in this view. The impact crater Odysseus is seen at the left. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Snaps New Image of Saturn’s Moon Tethys

Jul 28, 2015 by News Staff

The 280-mile-wide (450 km) impact crater Odysseus on Tethys stands out brightly from the rest of the illuminated crescent as seen by the NASA/ESA Cassini...

This image of Pluto (center) was taken on July 14, 2015 from a distance of 2.4 billion miles (3.9 billion km). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Spies Pluto from Saturn Orbit

Jul 21, 2015 by News Staff

As NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft sailed past Pluto, collecting invaluable science data, the space agency’s Cassini orbiter turned its gaze in that...

This image of Pluto from New Horizons was received on July 8, 2015, and has been combined with color information from the spacecraft’s Ralph instrument. The image was taken on July 7, when New Horizons was 5 million miles (8 million km) from the dwarf planet. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute.

Watch Live on NASA TV: New Horizons Pluto Flyby

Jul 14, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s New Horizons will complete a close flyby of Pluto today at 7:49 a.m. EST (4:49 a.m. PST, 11:49 a.m. GMT, 1:49 p.m. CET, 5:19 p.m. IST, 9:49 p.m....

This image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 16, 2015. The bright rings of Saturn can be seen at left. North on Dione is up and rotated 44 degrees to the left. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Captures Stunning Images of Dione

Jun 26, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini probe obtained new images of Saturn’s moon Dione during a close flyby on June 16, 2015. This image was taken in visible light with the...

This image shows Saturn’s moons Titan, Mimas (center bottom) and Rhea (upper left). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Triple Crescents: Cassini Captures Incredible Image of Three of Saturn’s Moons

Jun 23, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has captured a rare family photo of three of Saturn’s moons: Titan, Mimas and Rhea. This image shows Saturn’s moons Titan,...

Planetary Scientists Shed Light on Origins of Lakes on Titan

Jun 22, 2015 by News Staff

The surface of Titan – the largest moon of Saturn – dissolves in a similar process that creates sinkholes on our planet, says a team of scientists...

Researchers Discover Earth-Like Polar Winds on Titan

Jun 19, 2015 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by Dr Andrew Coates of University College London, UK, has found that the interactions between the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon...

This view of Tethys was taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on April 11, 2015. The crater Odysseus is seen at the right of the image. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Cassini Captures Stunning View of Saturn’s Moon Tethys

Jun 10, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has returned a spectacular new image of Tethys, a small, icy moon of Saturn. This view of Tethys was taken by NASA’s Cassini...

Cassini passed Hyperion on 31 May 2015 at a distance of about 21,000 miles (34,000 km). Mission scientists expect images from the encounter to arrive on Earth within 1-2 days. This view of the moon was obtained during Cassini’s flyby on 26 September 2005. It reveals crisp details across the strange, tumbling moon’s surface. Differences in color could represent differences in the composition of surface materials. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Makes Close Flyby of Hyperion

Jun 1, 2015 by News Staff

NASA’s Cassini space probe performed a close flyby of Saturn’s irregularly shaped moon Hyperion on 31 May 2015. Cassini passed Hyperion on 31 May 2015...

«‹5 678 9 ›»