On 13 Marsh, 2006, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft took this edge-on view of Saturn’s rings, capturing the moon Mimas above the ring plane, illuminated both by the sun and by “saturnshine,” the tiny moon Janus just above the rings and larger Tethys below. Cassini took the photo from a distance of about 2.7 million kilometres (1.7 million miles), combining red, green and blue spectral filters to produce a natural colour view. Cassini’s mission ended 15 September, 2017, when the spacecraft, virtually out of propellant after its long, successful mission, was directed to plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere.
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Bright impact basin on Saturn’s icy moon Tethys
In this NASA/ESA Cassini mission image of Saturn’s 660-mile-wide moon Tethys, the giant impact basin Odysseus stands out brightly from the rest of the illuminated icy crescent. Some 280 miles across, Odysseus is one of the largest impact craters on Saturn’s icy moons, and may have significantly altered the geologic history of Tethys.
See the Moon meet Saturn and a star disappear on 22 August
As dusk fades to dark on Saturday, 22 August, observers in the British Isles and Western Europe with clear skies can see the first quarter Moon close above planet Saturn low to the southwest. But for those skywatchers with binoculars and small telescopes, an additional treat is in store as the Moon passes in front of (occults) a naked-eye star.