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glenc
17-10-2006, 06:51 AM
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061016.html
In the Shadow of Saturn
Credit: SSI (http://www.spacescience.org/), JPL (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/), ESA (http://www.esa.int/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/) Explanation: In the shadow of Saturn, unexpected wonders appear. The robotic Cassini spacecraft (http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/index.cfm) now orbiting Saturn (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/saturn.html) recently drifted in giant planet's shadow (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040926.html) for about 12 hours and looked back toward the eclipsed Sun (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010408.html). Cassini saw a view unlike any other. First, the night side of Saturn (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060912.html) is seen to be partly lit by light reflected from its own majestic ring system (http://www.planetary.org/saturn/images_saturn_rings.html). Next, the rings themselves appear dark when silhouetted (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060921.html) against Saturn, but quite bright when viewed away from Saturn and (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/)slightly scattering (http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/F/forward_scattering.html) sunlight, in the above exaggerated color image (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08329). Saturn's rings light up so much that new rings (http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08322) were discovered, although they are hard to see in the above image. Visible in spectacular detail, however, is Saturn's E ring (http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/saturn/rings.html), the ring created by the newly discovered ice-fountains (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051205.html) of the moon Enceladus (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050906.html), and the outermost ring visible above. Far in the distance (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060927.html), visible on the image left just above the bright main rings, is the almost ignorable pale blue dot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot) of Earth.

gaa_ian
17-10-2006, 07:01 AM
That is Awsome, now adorning my desktop !

Astroman
17-10-2006, 07:18 AM
Thats COOL!!!!!!!

[1ponders]
17-10-2006, 08:58 AM
That's pretty special :clap:

fringe_dweller
17-10-2006, 11:42 AM
finally its on APOD!, been everywhere else lol - their getting slow there now,
every now and then something very special comes along, thats maybe the image of the year/decade for me - and theres a lot of awesome images out there :scared: - that has so much going on in it :thumbsup:

glenc
17-10-2006, 03:42 PM
I like the bit at the end.
Far in the distance (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060927.html), visible on the image left just above the bright main rings, is the almost ignorable pale blue dot (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot) of Earth.

Tamtarn
17-10-2006, 05:44 PM
The Cassini Imaging Team have given us some wonderous images. These are awsome.........Thanks Glen :thumbsup:

:eyepop: :eyepop: