Cassini – Page 3 – Astronomy Now

Saturn’s north pole

28 February 2017 Stephen Clark

The north pole of Saturn sits at the center of its own domain. Around it swirl the clouds, driven by the fast winds of Saturn. Beyond that orbits Saturn’s retinue of moons and the countless small particles that form the ring.

Cassini offers best-ever view of Saturn’s rings

30 January 2017 Stephen Clark

A sequence of images captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft last month are the most detailed pictures ever taken of Saturn’s famous rings, revealing complex, unexplained bands and the movements of dozens of tiny icy moonlets spinning around the planet.

Saturn’s shepherd moon Daphnis makes waves

19 January 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has captured the first close-up view of Daphnis, one of at least 62 moons found orbiting Saturn, plowing a path through the planet’s icy rings and raising waves in its wake.

Pandemonium in Saturn’s rings

8 July 2016 Astronomy Now

Pan and moons like it have profound effects on Saturn’s rings. The effects can range from clearing gaps, to creating new ringlets, to raising vertical waves that rise above and below the ring plane. All of these effects, produced by gravity, are seen in this image from the Cassini probe.

It’s a hard life being this moon of Saturn

12 May 2016 Astronomy Now

Life is hard for a little moon. Epimetheus, seen here with Saturn in the background, is lumpy and misshapen, thanks in part to its size and formation process.

Cassini sees tilted terminator of Saturn’s moon Enceladus

14 March 2016 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this view of Saturn’s moon Enceladus that shows wrinkled plains that are remarkably youthful in appearance, being generally free of large impact craters.

Ices and shadows at Saturn

20 February 2016 Astronomy Now

Saturn’s moon Tethys appears to float between two sets of rings in this view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, but it’s just a trick of geometry.

Wisps under the rings

3 January 2016 Astronomy Now

Dione’s beautiful wispy terrain is brightly lit alongside Saturn’s elegant rings in this image from the Cassini probe.

Astronomers recall discovery of Phaethon — source of Geminid meteors

12 December 2015 Astronomy Now

The beautiful Geminid meteor shower is due to light up the heavens this weekend, but the source of the enigmatic cosmic display had eluded stargazers for more than 120 years. Then, in 1983, two University of Leicester astronomers — Dr. Simon Green and Dr. John Davies — used data from the IRAS satellite to discover 3200 Phaethon, an asteroid with a very unusual orbit.

Cassini peers through the haze of Saturn’s moon Titan

6 December 2015 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Cassini probe recently peered through the hazy clouds of Saturn’s moon Titan to reveal features on the surface below. The infrared image was captured during a more distant than usual fly past of the moon.