Saturns Rings Seen Sideways
Explanation:
Saturn's rings
are actually very thin.
This picture
from the
Hubble Space Telescope
was taken on August 6, 1995 when the rings lined up sideways as seen from
Earth.
Saturn's largest moon
Titan is seen on the left, and Titan's
shadow can be seen on
Saturn's cloud tops!
Titan itself looks a brownish color because of its thick atmosphere. Four
other moons of Saturn can be seen just above the ring plane, which are,
from left to right:
Mimas,
Tethys,
Janus, and
Enceladus. If you look
carefully, you will note that the dark band across the planet is actually
the
shadow of the rings, and is slightly displaced from the real
rings - which are best seen away from the planet.
Saturn's
rings are not solid - they are composed of ice chunks which range
in size from a grain of sand to a house.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
