Saturn – Page 17 – Astronomy Now

Unusual red arcs discovered on icy Saturnian moon

30 July 2015 Astronomy Now

Like graffiti sprayed by an unknown artist, unexplained narrow, arc-shaped, reddish streaks are visible on the surface of Saturn’s icy moon Tethys in new, enhanced-colour images from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. The red arcs are among the most unusual colour features on Saturn’s moons to be revealed by Cassini’s cameras.

Bright impact basin on Saturn’s icy moon Tethys

28 July 2015 Astronomy Now

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 Saturn close to the Moon on the evening of 26 July

26 July 2015 Ade Ashford

Saturn’s summer apparition for 2015 is drawing to a close as the ringed planet is highest in the southern sky before sunset for observers in the British Isles, but it can still be found in the bright evening twilight if you have a convenient guide — like tonight’s gibbous Moon.

Saturn’s moons pose for ‘mother and daughter’ portrait

23 July 2015 Astronomy Now

Dione and Tethys, two moons of Saturn, pose together for a mythological ‘mother and daughter’ portrait in this image from the Cassini mission.

See Saturn’s close brush with the Moon on 28 June

27 June 2015 Ade Ashford

Some five weeks after opposition, Saturn attains a maximum altitude of just 18 degrees in the south around 10:30pm as seen from the centre of the UK. If you need help finding the ringed planet, the Moon passes conveniently close by on the night of 28 June.

Triple crescents

22 June 2015 Astronomy Now

A single crescent moon is a familiar sight in Earth’s sky, but with Saturn’s many moons, you can see three or even more. Rhea (top), Titan and Mimas (bottom) align for this image from NASA’s ongoing Cassini mission.

Saturn moon’s ice canyons viewed by Cassini

21 June 2015 Stephen Clark

Saturn’s moon Dione received a fleeting visitor on 16 June, when NASA’s Cassini spacecraft whizzed by to image bizarre streaks thought to be canyons with ice walls up to 100 stories tall.

The mysterious ‘lakes’ on Saturn’s moon Titan

21 June 2015 Astronomy Now

Titan is home to seas and lakes filled with liquid hydrocarbons, but what forms the depressions on the surface? A new study using data from the joint NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Cassini mission suggests the moon’s surface dissolves in a process that’s similar to the creation of sinkholes on Earth.

Last look at Hyperion

4 June 2015 Kerry Hebden

Saturn’s irregularly shaped moon Hyperion, received its last close inspection from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, before the probe heads on to its icy neighbour Dione.

Saturn’s close encounter with the Moon

31 May 2015 Ade Ashford

If you would like to view ringed planet Saturn at its best but are unsure which ‘star’ you should point your telescope at, no problem — the Moon makes a convenient guide as it brushes close by late into the evening of Monday, June 1st.