Saturn – Page 6 – Astronomy Now

Cassini spacecraft makes final plunge into Saturn

15 September 2017 Astronomy Now

A thrilling epoch in the exploration of our solar system came to a close today, as NASA’s Cassini spacecraft made a fateful plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn, ending its 13-year tour of the ringed planet.

Cassini spacecraft makes its final approach to Saturn

14 September 2017 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is on final approach to Saturn, following confirmation by mission navigators that it is on course to dive into the planet’s atmosphere on Friday, Sept. 15.

NASA releases inside-out view of Saturn’s rings

29 August 2017 Stephen Clark

Continuing to make discoveries in the final weeks of a historic mission at Saturn, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has recorded a unique time lapse movie looking out toward the planet’s iconic icy rings.

Saturn-lit moon

25 August 2017 Astronomy Now

NASA’s Cassini probe gazes across the icy rings of Saturn toward the icy moon Tethys, whose night side is illuminated by Saturnshine, or sunlight reflected by the planet.

NASA counts down final month of Cassini’s tour of Saturn

15 August 2017 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Cassini orbiter sailed through the tenuous outermost reaches of Saturn’s atmosphere without trouble Monday, performing the first of five close swings nearer to the planet than any previous spacecraft before a final dive Sept. 15 to end the probe’s nearly 20-year mission.

Cassini finds molecule in Titan’s atmosphere that could give rise to organics

3 August 2017 Astronomy Now

The international Cassini-Huygens mission has made a surprising detection of a molecule that is instrumental in the production of complex organics within the hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan.

See the International Space Station, Moon and Saturn in the UK sky tonight

2 August 2017 Ade Ashford

The serene beauty of the International Space Station sailing silently overhead needs nothing more than the naked eye to appreciate. But when the dazzling ISS is also in conjunction with a pair of prominent Solar System bodies — such at the Moon and Saturn on the night of 2 August 2017 in the UK — you may wish to grab your binoculars and look low in the south-southwest just before 11:20pm BST.

Haze on Saturn’s horizon

27 July 2017 Astronomy Now

This false-color view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft gazes toward the rings beyond Saturn’s sunlit horizon. Along the limb at left can be seen a thin, detached haze. This haze vanishes toward the left side of the scene.

Enceladus’ jets from afar

26 July 2017 Astronomy Now

Enceladus’ intriguing south-polar jets are viewed by the Cassini probe from afar, backlit by sunlight while the moon itself glows softly in reflected Saturn-shine.

See the Moon meet the ringed planet on the night of 6—7 July

5 July 2017 Ade Ashford

Skywatchers in the UK and Western Europe should cast their gaze low in the southern sky late into the evening of Thursday 6 July to see the 12-day-old waxing gibbous Moon in conjunction with ringed planet Saturn. The pair are separated by just 3½ degrees, nicely framed in a typical 10×50 binocular. For telescope users, the night of 6—7 July is also good for spotting Saturn’s bright moons. We show you what to look for and where.