Saturn – Page 18 – Astronomy Now

See ringed planet Saturn at its best

18 May 2015 Ade Ashford

Often referred to as the Jewel of the Solar System, Saturn reaches opposition on May 23rd and is currently best placed for observation during 2015. Despite the planet’s southerly declination, its glorious ring system is favourably tipped in our direction with the northern hemisphere on show.

Geochemical process on Saturn’s moon Enceladus linked to life’s origin

7 May 2015 Astronomy Now

Researchers have revealed the pH of water spewing from geyser-like plumes on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Their findings are an important step toward determining whether life could exist, or could have previously existed, on the sixth planet’s sixth-largest moon.

Mimas by Saturnshine

14 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Although we are used to seeing Saturn’s moons lit directly by the Sun, sometimes we can catch them illuminated by “Saturnshine.”

Getting close to Iapetus

8 April 2015 Kerry Hebden

This two-tone, almost yin-yang like image of Iapetus, Saturn’s third largest moon, is the view Cassini was privilege to when it did its second closest approach of the satellite earlier this year.

Cassini gets our best view yet of Saturn’s moon Rhea

30 March 2015 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Cassini probe has entered a new series of orbits which bring it close to Saturn’s icy moons. It has already captured the highest resolution view yet of Rhea, Saturn’s second largest moon.

Getting into the groove of Saturn’s rings

18 March 2015 Astronomy Now

In this image from the Cassini probe orbiting Saturn we see that there are varied structures in the planet’s rings at almost every scale imaginable.

Hydrothermal activity in subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus

12 March 2015 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft finds the first evidence of active hot-water chemistry beyond planet Earth on Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus — results that have important implications for the habitability of icy worlds.

The Moon meets Saturn in the claws of the Scorpion

11 March 2015 Ade Ashford

The 20-day-old waning gibbous Moon has a close encounter with ringed planet Saturn in northern Scorpius in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, March 12th.

Life ‘not as we know it’ possible on Saturn’s moon Titan

1 March 2015 Astronomy Now

Liquid water is a requirement for life on Earth, but on much colder worlds life might exist beyond the bounds of water-based chemistry. Researchers at Cornell University offer a template for life that could thrive in the cryogenic seas of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

Cubist Saturn

24 February 2015 Astronomy Now

Sometimes at Saturn you can see things almost as if from every angle at once, the way a Cubist might imagine things.