
NASAs Cassini spacecraft has delivered a glorious view of Saturn... - jug6ernaut
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/cassini20121218.html
======
T-hawk
Here's a fantastic detailed explanation of the geometry and what's going on
with each visual element of the picture, from Slate:

[http://mobile.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2012/12/20/satur...](http://mobile.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2012/12/20/saturn_s_night_side_cassini_sees_rings_and_planet_in_stunning_picture_photo.html)

~~~
dot
Thanks for posting the article. Really helped!

If you're still having trouble wrapping your mind around the shadowy part...
Look at this image and imagine the light source coming from behind instead:

[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Saturn_HS...](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Saturn_HST_2004-03-22.jpg)

~~~
jebblue
Why do they look almost computer generated? Just curious.

------
monkey_slap
If anyone stumbles upon a higher resolution image of this I would be much
obliged. It's really striking.

edit: Just found it! <http://i.imgur.com/ZCEKA.jpg>

------
Tichy
Just wondering, is there a network of telescope webcams? Hobby astronomers
hooking up their telescopes to the internet, perhaps even with remote
controlled mounts? Would save the costs of buying my own telescope, which
wouldn't be much use in the city anyway.

~~~
frossie
You mean something like <http://www.itelescope.net/> ? Also check for a local
amateur astronomy association.

Research telescopes often have live feeds for popular events (such as the
Venus transit).

Finally depending on your location you may be no further than a day trip away
to an astronomical facility - they often have events open to the public,
stargazing etc.

BTW Here's another "christmassy" picture (this time of the Bubble Nebula) from
a brand new instrument:

<http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im1136.html>

Disclaimer - Latter link is my employer, but I have nothing to gain from you
clicking on it :-)

Oh Edit: you can also go data-mining in public astronomy databases, though
sadly most of them are not geared for use by the general public.

Oh Edit2: You can have some fun with this <http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/>
but you need Silverlight

~~~
mturmon
Another related development in democratization of astronomy is publishing of
transient events (brightenings/dimmings of objects) as they happen. You can
subscribe to feeds from robotic transient surveys, that do the image
processing and photometry to generate events in near real time (e.g.:
<http://skyalert.org/>). The events are published in a standard format so you
can automate follow-up as well.

Many of the events are asteroids or possible NEOs, but others are galactic and
extra-galactic, like supernovae, blazars, etc.

It's not backyard astronomy, because the events are being detected by 1 meter
telescopes and have magnitude of perhaps 18 or 20, but it's a more open and
data-rich situation than a few sources being kept under wraps for follow-up by
the discoverer only.

------
natex
While I do find this image visually appealing, and appreciate its technical
merit, I find it a bit unreal looking. Maybe it's a bit two-dimensional.

I prefer the more three-dimensional looking images like
[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia1462...](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia14627.html).

~~~
Sharlin
Well, it's the night side, so obviously there's not the same kind of shading
that you get with direct sunlight.

~~~
001sky
The planet and the rings seem to violate 3D spatial relations. ie, planet
appears outside the orbit of the rings, for example. Its a touch awkward. On a
more subjective note, the outline of the planet in artificial colour (the
corona effect) seems a bit ?? overdone.

I'd like to see other renderings.

edit: I think there is a bit of an optical illusion, part of which is
happening because of the over-saturation of the corona. The image makes more
sense if you soom out a bit and understand you are looking <up> at the planet
from the souther hemispher (ie, below the equator/rings belt). The missing
rings should be in the fore-ground but are absent due to shadow. Again, the
corona;s colour saturation is so strong it throws the image constuct off when
looking at it in more magnification.

~~~
Sharlin
Yes; you're looking "up" but surely there are no missing rings - they are
actually _visible_ against the planet as silhouettes. They are dark because
they're in the planet's shadow.

------
imglorp
Polar vortex

[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/N001983...](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/N00198390.html)

~~~
jlgreco
Saturn's polar vortex has a hexagonal pattern, which I think is pretty
interesting: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn%27s_hexagon>

------
Flenser
Why does Saturn appear green in this image but brown in the banner image above
it?

~~~
sp332
"The new processed mosaic [is] composed of 60 images taken in the violet,
visible and near infrared part of the spectrum". So the colors in the image
were chosen for artistic effect, and are not "true" colors because you
couldn't see some of them anyway.

This image was specifically processed to look closer to real colors:
[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/gallery...](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/gallery/pia08329.html)

------
bmuon
It left me wondering: could smaller rocky planets have rings or would their
gravity pull not be enough to maintain them?

~~~
jug6ernaut
It is theorized that earth at one time had rings, but that they later
coalesced into what is now our moon.

It is also theorized that the reason that the reason why Saturn's rings do not
do this(though this could just a matter of time that we are now viewing them
at) is because they are prodomonantly ice crystals which constantly bounce
into each other breaking and re-freezing. IE why we can see them at
all(reflective surfaces on the ice) rather then them be covered with dirt &
dust and rendering them unreflective.

Further more to your question I "think" any planet or even any object could
have rings, its just there are many factors that go into play and singularly
it is REALLY hard to see them, and we only have our galaxy where we would be
able to tell if an object did or didn't have them.

~~~
natex
"It is theorized that earth at one time had rings, but that they later
coalesced into what is now our moon."

Indeed. (1997 Nature article)
[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v389/n6649/full/389353a...](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v389/n6649/full/389353a0.html)

------
charonn0
Must be an awesome view from the surface at midnight on Saturn.

------
elptacek
Wow. Thank you for posting this. In light of the superstition of the day and
recent events, I am reminded of Bill Hicks:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMUiwTubYu0>

------
loceng
That really is gorgeous. I want to be able to fly by it in person.

------
biolime
Is there a higher resolution image available? I'd love to make that a new
desktop background.

------
b2spirit
The emperor's gorgeous new clothes.

------
marcrosoft
Why does it look like clipart?

~~~
hahainternet
Because it's an exceptionally smooth and beautiful image?

------
mseepgood
Fake.

