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> Saturn seen by Cassini spacecraft on october 10 2013

Saturn seen by Cassini spacecraft on october 10 2013

author: Nasa/JPL/SSI/Novapix

reference: a-sat05-10066

Image Size 300 DPI: 30 * 22 cm

A swing high above Saturn by NASA's Cassini spacecraft revealed this stately view of the golden-hued planet and its main rings. The view is in natural color, as human eyes would have seen it. This mosaic was made from 36 images in three color filters obtained by Cassini's imaging science subsystem on Oct. 10, 2013. A bright, narrow wave of clouds around 42 degrees north latitude appears to be some of the turbulent aftermath of a giant storm that reached its violent peak in early 2011. The mysterious six-sided weather pattern known as the hexagon is visible around Saturn's north pole. The rings shown here include Saturn's main rings. The rings known as the C, B and A rings -- listed here in order of closeness to Saturn -- are easily seen. The F ring is also there, but not easily seen without enhancing the contrast of the image. (Rings were named in order of their discovery rather than their position around Saturn.) The rings also cast a shadow on Saturn at the limb of the planet in the lower right quadrant.

Keywords for this photo:

2013 - ASTRONOMY - CASSINI - GLOBAL VIEW - ICE - PLANET - RING - SATURN -