Saturn at Night
Explanation:
This is what Saturn looks like at night.
In contrast to the
human-made lights that cause the
nighttime side of Earth to glow faintly,
Saturn's faint nighttime glow is primarily caused by sunlight reflecting off of its
own
majestic rings.
The
above image
of Saturn at night was captured in July by the
Cassini spacecraft
now orbiting
Saturn.
The
above image
was taken when the Sun was far in front of the spacecraft.
From this vantage point, the northern hemisphere of nighttime Saturn, visible on
the lef, appears eerily dark.
Sunlit rings are visible ahead, but are abruptly cut off by
Saturn's shadow.
In Saturn's southern hemisphere, visible on the right, the dim reflected glow from
the sunlit rings is most apparent.
Imprinted on this diffuse glow, though, are thin black stripes not discernable to
any
Earth telescope -- the silhouetted
C ring of Saturn.
Cassini has been orbiting Saturn since 2004 and its
mission
is scheduled to continue until 2008.
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.