Galerie de photos des anneaux de la planète Saturne

<h1>PIA09793: Sliding Shadows</h1><div class="PIA09793" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Dark ring shadows adorn the northern hemisphere of Saturn. The shadows have loosened their grip on the north compared to when Cassini arrived in 2004 (see <a href="/catalog/PIA06177">PIA06177</a>), and presently continue to slide farther south.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 5 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The view was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Oct. 22, 2007, at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (839,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 77 kilometers (48 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09793" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09793: Sliding Shadows sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09793: Sliding Shadows sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09793: Sliding Shadows
<h1>PIA09796: Cloud Detail</h1><div class="PIA09796" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>A transitional region in Saturn's atmosphere features long, linear cloud shapes, flanked to the north and south by more turbulent swirls. At top center in this view swirls a dark vortex ringed by bright clouds. </p><p>The view is centered on a region 44 degrees north of the Saturnian equator. North is up.</p><p>The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 8, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 17 kilometers (10 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09796" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09796: Cloud Detail sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09796: Cloud Detail sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09796: Cloud Detail
<h1>PIA09798: Key Players</h1><div class="PIA09798" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Saturn and Dione regard Enceladus—the object their gravitational tug-of-war. Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) is seen next to Saturn here. Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) appears at left.</p><p>The interplay of gravitational forces on Enceladus from both Saturn and Dione might provide a key source of energy for the geological activity in the small moon's south polar region. What powers the activity on Enceladus is an ongoing subject of interest to Cassini scientists.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 3 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Nov. 8, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers (1.8 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 169 kilometers (105 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09798" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09798: Key Players sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09798: Key Players sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09798: Key Players
<h1>PIA09800: Bright Strands</h1><div class="PIA09800" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>A section of Saturn's perturbed F ring displays kinks in its bright strands. At left, edge waves in the Encke Gap, caused by the presence of Pan, can be seen, along with two faint ringlets.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 4 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The rings disappear into the planet's shadow at the top of the scene.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 14, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-ring-spacecraft, or phase, angle of about 55 degrees. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09800" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09800: Bright Strands sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09800: Bright Strands sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09800: Bright Strands
<h1>PIA09802: Alone with the Giant</h1><div class="PIA09802" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>A small moon travels its circuit just outside the main rings of Saturn. Epimetheus (116 kilometers, 72 miles across) is absolutely dwarfed by the giant planet.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 5 degrees above the ringplane. The night side of the planet's southern hemisphere is illuminated by ringshine -- sunlight reflected off the rings.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Nov. 14, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 102 kilometers (63 miles) per pixel.</p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09802" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09802: Alone with the Giant sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09802: Alone with the Giant sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09802: Alone with the Giant
<h1>PIA09803: Sculpting the F Ring</h1><div class="PIA09803" lang="en" style="width:709px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Prometheus is caught here, in the act of pulling a new streamer out of the F ring's inner edge. Trailing behind (above the moon in the image) are previous dark gores that Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) has created. </p><p>See <a href="/catalog/PIA08397">PIA08397</a> for a thorough description of how the moon creates these features.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 5 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 14, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 67 degrees. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09803" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09803: Sculpting the F Ring sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09803: Sculpting the F Ring sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09803: Sculpting the F Ring
<h1>PIA09805: Saturn's Outer C Ring</h1><div class="PIA09805" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>This view takes in the outer third of Saturn's C ring—from the Maxwell Gap, at center left, to the C-ring edge at lower right. </p><p>For reference, see the labeled mosaic of the rings presented in <a href="/catalog/PIA08389">PIA08389</a>.</p><p>This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 4 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Nov. 17, 2007. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 465,000 kilometers (289,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale at the center of this view is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel in the radial, or outward from Saturn, direction and 42 kilometers per pixel in the longitudinal, or around Saturn, direction.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09805" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09805: Saturn's Outer C Ring sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09805: Saturn's Outer C Ring sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09805: Saturn's Outer C Ring
<h1>PIA09812: Daphnis and Pan</h1><div class="PIA09812" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Saturn's two ring-embedded moons are pictured here, along with clearly visible signs of their perturbing effects on the ring edges that border the gaps they inhabit. </p><p>These ripples along the ring edges arise when the perturbing moon passes by, creating leading wakes in the faster moving ring material interior to the moon and trailing wakes as it passes the slower moving ring material beyond the moon. Being larger than Daphnis, Pan creates correspondingly larger wakes.</p><p>Daphnis (7 kilometers, or 4.3 miles across) is seen in the Keeler Gap at left, and Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) appears near center in the Encke Gap.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 10 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 1, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (819,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09812" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09812: Daphnis and Pan sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09812: Daphnis and Pan sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09812: Daphnis and Pan
<h1>PIA09814: Subtle Kinks</h1><div class="PIA09814" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>The bright, perturbed core of Saturn's F ring displays several kink-like features. The core is flanked by dimmer, smoother ringlets.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 12 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 2, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 575,000 kilometers (357,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-ring-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 92 degrees. Image scale is 3 kilometers (2 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09814" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09814: Subtle Kinks sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09814: Subtle Kinks sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09814: Subtle Kinks
<h1>PIA09816: Ring Herders</h1><div class="PIA09816" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Both of Saturn's F-ring shepherd moons are seen in this Cassini spacecraft view, which also features narrow ringlets in the Encke gap at left.</p><p>Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is captured in the act of creating another dark gore in the F ring's inner edge. Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across) is farther around the ring's outer edge at top.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 5 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible blue light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 6, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel on both moons.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09816" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09816: Ring Herders sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09816: Ring Herders sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09816: Ring Herders
<h1>PIA09817: Contrast Across the Shadows</h1><div class="PIA09817" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Saturn's rings sweep around the planet, throwing their dark shadows onto the northern hemisphere.</p><p>The equatorial region is generally brighter than the rest of the planet in Cassini spacecraft views, but the contrast is often striking in monochrome views like this, taken in the infrared part of the spectrum at wavelengths sensitive to methane absorption in the planet's atmosphere. (Compare, for example, <a href="/catalog/PIA08392">PIA08392</a> and <a href="/catalog/PIA07669">PIA07669</a>.)</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 24 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09817" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09817: Contrast Across the Shadows sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09817: Contrast Across the Shadows sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09817: Contrast Across the Shadows
<h1>PIA09820: Peering Through the Plane</h1><div class="PIA09820" lang="en" style="width:455px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Looking down through the A ring and Cassini Division, the Cassini spacecraft sees the bright limb of Saturn. The view shows a portion the rings from the outer B ring, at upper right, to the F ring at bottom. </p><p>See <a href="/catalog/PIA08389">PIA08389</a> for a labeled map of Saturn's rings.</p><p>The perspective is toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 15 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 12, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 2.2 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 28 kilometers (17 miles) per pixel in the radial, or outward from Saturn, direction; and 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel in the longitudinal, or around Saturn, direction.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09820" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09820: Peering Through the Plane sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09820: Peering Through the Plane sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09820: Peering Through the Plane
<h1>PIA09822: Pan in View</h1><div class="PIA09822" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>A small ring-embedded moon coasts into view from behind shadow-draped Saturn. The rings' image is distorted near Saturn by the planet's upper atmosphere, to the right of Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across).</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 8 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera Dec. 22, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Pan. Image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel on Pan.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09822" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09822: Pan in View sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09822: Pan in View sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09822: Pan in View
<h1>PIA09824: Field of Moons</h1><div class="PIA09824" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>A color portrait of Saturn's sunlight-scattering rings hosts a group of several moons.</p><p>Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) is visible at top. At bottom, in increasing distance from the rings are Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across), Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) and Mimas (397 kilometers, or 247 miles across).</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 10 degrees above the ringplane. Saturn's shadow can be seen on the rings at upper left.</p><p>Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this composite color view. </p><p>The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Dec. 22, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 110 kilometers (68 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09824" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09824: Field of Moons sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09824: Field of Moons sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09824: Field of Moons
<h1>PIA09826: F Ring Knot</h1><div class="PIA09826" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>The Cassini spacecraft captures an intriguing feature in the perturbed core of Saturn's F ring. </p><p>The feature is similar in appearance to the one captured in <a href="/catalog/PIA08290">PIA08290</a>.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 32 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Dec. 31, 2007. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-ring-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 63 degrees. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09826" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09826: F Ring Knot sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09826: F Ring Knot sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09826: F Ring Knot
<h1>PIA09829: Flickering Antares</h1><div class="PIA09829" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>A point of light flickers behind Saturn's rings as multiple instruments on the Cassini spacecraft observe a stellar occultation of Antares (or alpha Scorpii). </p><p>Such observations are designed to understand the fine-scale structure of the rings. Scientists look at variations in the observed brightness of the star (whose actual brightness is well known) to determine the opacity of the rings in different places. </p><p>Among other things, Cassini's prior stellar occultations have been used to examine density and bending waves induced in the A ring by Saturn's various moons.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 34 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 3, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 541,000 kilometers (336,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is about 4 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09829" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09829: Flickering Antares sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09829: Flickering Antares sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09829: Flickering Antares
<h1>PIA09831: Probing the North</h1><div class="PIA09831" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>The Cassini spacecraft probes Saturn's atmosphere, peering beneath the hazes that obscure the flowing cloud bands at visible wavelengths. Brighter areas in this view generally represent features higher in the atmosphere than darker areas. (The dark region at far right is, of course, on the planet's night side.)</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings and was acquired from about 38 degrees above the ringplane. It was taken a few minutes after <a href="/catalog/PIA09828">PIA09828</a>.</p><p>The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 2, 2008 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 728 and 705 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 929,000 kilometers (577,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 52 kilometers (32 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09831" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09831: Probing the North sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09831: Probing the North sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09831: Probing the North
<h1>PIA09834: Gravity of the Situation</h1><div class="PIA09834" lang="en" style="width:756px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Two dark gores in Saturn's F ring demonstrate the gravitational influence of the shepherd moon Prometheus. </p><p>The older gore at the top of this view is at a steeper angle than the newer addition just above and to the left of Prometheus, since the former has sheared out over the course of an orbit: particles on the inner (right) side of the F ring travel faster in the same amount of time than the particles on the outer (left) side, leaving the outer particles behind.</p><p>Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is lit at left by direct sunlight and at right by reflected light from Saturn. The bright, sunlit portion of the moon is overexposed.</p><p>Two background stars are captured above Prometheus in this view, which looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 33 degrees above the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 1, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.5 million kilometers (956,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 62 degrees. Image scale is 9 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09834" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09834: Gravity of the Situation sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09834: Gravity of the Situation sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09834: Gravity of the Situation
<h1>PIA09836: Ring Rocks</h1><div class="PIA09836" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>From about a degree above the unilluminated side of Saturn's ringplane, Cassini spies two of the small moons that skirt the edges of the planet's rings.</p><p>Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) is seen at center right between the A and F rings. Epimetheus (116 kilometers, or 72 miles across) appears exterior to the F ring, above center right.</p><p>The group of little, irregularly shaped, icy bodies that hug the rings—so much smaller than the great icy moons like Tethys, Enceladus, etc.—is sometimes referred to as the "ring rocks."</p><p>The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 17, 2008 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 930 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Epimetheus and 1.2 million kilometers (760,000 miles) from Atlas. Image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel on Epimetheus and 7 kilometers (4 miles) on Atlas.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09836" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09836: Ring Rocks sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09836: Ring Rocks sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09836: Ring Rocks
<h1>PIA09845: Pan in the Fast Lane</h1><div class="PIA09845" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Two of Saturn's ring moons are captured in this Cassini spacecraft view, along with the signature of another. This image was taken not long after Prometheus passed, leaving a trail of dark gores in the inner edge of the F ring.</p><p>Pan (26 kilometers, or 16 miles across) orbits Saturn about 4,090 kilometers (2,540 miles) closer than Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across), meaning that Pan orbits faster, always overtaking its slower moving sibling.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 25 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 23, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from both moons. Image scale is 11 kilometers (7 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09845" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09845: Pan in the Fast Lane sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09845: Pan in the Fast Lane sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09845: Pan in the Fast Lane
<h1>PIA09847: Stepping Stone to Dione</h1><div class="PIA09847" lang="en" style="width:462px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>The Cassini spacecraft captures Janus in the foreground, with Dione in the distance beyond.</p><p>The image was taken two hours after <a href="/catalog/PIA09842">PIA09842</a>, in which Cassini imaged Dione beyond the rings.</p><p>Janus is 181 kilometers (113 miles) across. Dione is 1,126 kilometers (700 miles) across. North on the moons is up.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 17, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.2 million kilometers (766,000 miles) from Janus and 1.6 million kilometers (970,000 miles) from Dione. Image scale is 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel on Janus and 9 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel on Dione.</p><p>The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 20, 2008 using a combination of spectral filters sensitive to wavelengths of polarized infrared light centered at 938 and 746 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.3 million kilometers (800,000 miles) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 58 degrees. Image scale is 8 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel. Due to scattering of light by Titan's hazy atmosphere, the sizes of surface features that can be resolved are a few times larger than the actual pixel scale.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09847" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09847: Stepping Stone to Dione sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09847: Stepping Stone to Dione sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09847: Stepping Stone to Dione
<h1>PIA09848: Trailing Prometheus</h1><div class="PIA09848" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Saturn's F ring displays magnificent structure following the passage of Prometheus. Atlas (32 kilometers, or 20 miles across) is seen between the A and F rings, above center.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 28 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 23, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 41 degrees. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09848" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09848: Trailing Prometheus sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09848: Trailing Prometheus sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09848: Trailing Prometheus
<h1>PIA09849: Janus in View</h1><div class="PIA09849" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>The Cassini spacecraft spots the irregularly shaped icy moon Janus as it swings around Saturn.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 8 degrees above the ringplane. Janus is 181 kilometers (113 miles) across.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 19, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.6 million kilometers (994,000 miles) from Janus and at a Sun-Janus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 18 degrees. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09849" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09849: Janus in View sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09849: Janus in View sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09849: Janus in View
<h1>PIA09850: Among the Waves</h1><div class="PIA09850" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Daphnis and its entourage of edge waves are captured here by the Cassini spacecraft.</p><p>The wave pattern caused by Daphnis in the edges of the Keeler Gap can be likened to a standing ripple in a flowing stream—the ripple, perhaps caused by a submerged stone, persists even though water particles are moving through it and onward downstream. Often, just downstream of the initial ripple, there are subsequent smaller waves as the water particles bob up and down before settling once more into smooth flow downstream. </p><p>Relating this analogy to the Keeler Gap edge waves, Daphnis is the stone causing the ripple -- delivering an initial gravitational kick to particles as they slowly pass by. </p><p>This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 45 degrees below the ringplane. Daphnis is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) across. </p><p>The image was taken in visible blue light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 28, 2008. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 370,000 kilometers (230,000 miles) from Daphnis and at a Sun-Daphnis-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 95 degrees. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09850" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09850: Among the Waves sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09850: Among the Waves sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09850: Among the Waves
<h1>PIA09851: Scattered Sunlight</h1><div class="PIA09851" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Sunlight scatters through Saturn's rings, emerging on the unilluminated side. Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across, lower right) and Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across, upper left) are visible here, respectively internal and external to the narrow F ring.</p><p>This view looks toward the rings from about 17 degrees above the ringplane. The planet's shadow darkens the rings near upper left.</p><p>The image was taken in visible green light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 20, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 103 kilometers (64 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09851" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09851: Scattered Sunlight sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09851: Scattered Sunlight sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09851: Scattered Sunlight
<h1>PIA09852: Orbit Quest</h1><div class="PIA09852" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Prometheus shines brightly in this image, taken as part of the ongoing campaign to precisely determine the orbits of Saturn's small moons.</p><p>Moons are usually quite bright in this type of observation, due to the long exposure times employed. Long exposures are required in order to gather enough light so that dim, 12th (or even 13th or 14th) magnitude stars are visible in the background, making it possible to determine where the Cassini spacecraft is pointed on the sky with great accuracy. Imaging scientists are then able to precisely determine the position of the moon's center, thus refining their understanding of the moon's orbit and any changes to it over time due to perturbations by other moons.</p><p>Two stars can be seen in this view: one to the right of Prometheus and one near lower left.</p><p>Exterior to Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) is the F ring, with its inner and outer flanking ringlets and a streamer channel created by the moon. The outer A ring is seen at top.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 21 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 22, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.7 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 34 degrees. Image scale is 10 kilometers (6 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09852" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09852: Orbit Quest sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09852: Orbit Quest sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09852: Orbit Quest
<h1>PIA09853: Confining Moons</h1><div class="PIA09853" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Saturn's shepherd moons gravitationally herd the F ring's particles into a narrow thread.</p><p>The structure seen in the inner edge of the F ring in this wide-angle view is similar to that seen in the narrow-angle view <a href="/catalog/PIA09845">PIA09845</a>. Here, Prometheus is inside the ring's inner edge.</p><p>Along with Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) and Pandora (84 kilometers, or 52 miles across), two background stars are visible in the image. One of the stars is seen in the middle of the F ring.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 45 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 26, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 749,000 kilometers (465,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 45 kilometers (28 miles) per pixel.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09853" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09853: Confining Moons sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09853: Confining Moons sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09853: Confining Moons
<h1>PIA09855: Inspecting the Edge</h1><div class="PIA09855" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>The Cassini spacecraft stares at the Huygens Gap— the region between Saturn's outer B ring and the ringlets of the prominent Cassini Division—in this high-resolution view.</p><p>Ring scientists think that the scrambled pattern seen here in the B ring's outer edge might represent gravitational clumping of particles there—that is, the self-gravity of groups of particles orbiting together makes them form clumps. </p><p>The outer B ring edge (at left) is maintained by a resonance with the moon Mimas. </p><p>The clumping feature may be due to the fact that this region is compressed periodically, owing to perturbations by Mimas. Cassini will take additional images of this region as researchers continue to investigate the interesting feature.</p><p>This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 43 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 28, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 246,000 kilometers (153,000 miles) above the rings and at a Sun-ring-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 84 degrees. Image scale is about 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) per pixel. </p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09855" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09855: Inspecting the Edge sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09855: Inspecting the Edge sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09855: Inspecting the Edge
<h1>PIA09857: Maxwell's Namesake</h1><div class="PIA09857" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>The Cassini spacecraft examines the Maxwell Gap—the large, dark division at center—which is surrounded on either side by the broad, isolated and bright ring regions, or "plateaus," of Saturn's outer C ring.</p><p>See <a href="/catalog/PIA08389">PIA08389</a> for a labeled Cassini map of the rings.</p><p>The gap is named for James Clerk Maxwell, the famous Scottish physicist who showed that Saturn's rings must consist of countless individual particles, rather than solid, concentric ringlets.</p><p>Prometheus (102 kilometers, 63 miles across) wanders past at the bottom of this scene, which looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 2 degrees below the ringplane.</p><p>The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 29, 2008. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (697,000 miles) from Saturn. Image scale at the center of the scene is about 7 kilometers (4 miles) per pixel in the radial, or outward from Saturn, direction.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09857" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09857: Maxwell's Namesake sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09857: Maxwell's Namesake sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09857: Maxwell's Namesake
<h1>PIA09860: Rings Aglow</h1><div class="PIA09860" lang="en" style="width:800px;text-align:left;margin:auto;background-color:#000;padding:10px;max-height:150px;overflow:auto;"><p>Saturn's softly glowing rings shine in scattered sunlight. </p><p>The B ring presents a remarkable difference in brightness between the near and far arms (bottom and top of the image, respectively). The strong variation in brightness could be due to the presence of wake-like features in the B ring.</p><p>See <a href="/catalog/PIA08389">PIA08389</a> for a labeled Cassini map of the rings.</p><p>This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 5 degrees above the ringplane. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were acquired at a distance of approximately 574,000 kilometers (357,000 miles) from Saturn. At the center of the image, the Sun-ring-spacecraft, or phase, angle is 114 degrees, and the image scale is 34 kilometers (21 miles) per pixel in the radial, or outward from Saturn, direction.</p><p>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.</p><p>For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <a href="http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov">http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm</a>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <a href="http://ciclops.org">http://ciclops.org</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09860" onclick="window.open(this.href); return false;" title="Voir l'image PIA09860: Rings Aglow sur le site de la NASA">Voir l'image PIA09860: Rings Aglow sur le site de la NASA.</a></div>
PIA09860: Rings Aglow