Space / 2014-07-21
Saturn Imitates the Moon
NASA's image library records Saturn Imitates the Moon.
Saturn appears to NASA Cassini cameras as a thin, sunlit crescent in this unearthly view. Citizens of Earth, being so much closer to the Sun than Saturn, never get to enjoy a view of Saturn like this without the aid of our robot envoys. Parts of the night side of Saturn show faint illumination due to light reflected off the rings back onto the plan
A CLOSER LOOK
Saturn appears to NASA Cassini cameras as a thin, sunlit crescent in this unearthly view. Citizens of Earth, being so much closer to the Sun than Saturn, never get to enjoy a view of Saturn like this without the aid of our robot envoys. Parts of the night side of Saturn show faint illumination due to light reflected off the rings back onto the planet, an effect dubbed "ringshine." This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 43 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 4, 2013. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million miles (2 million kilometers) from Saturn. Image scale is 75 miles (120 kilometers) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18276
Explore NASA's original image record for credits and available downloads.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
NASA Image and Video LibrarySaturn Imitates the MoonOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.