#PPOD: This near-infrared view of Saturn and the rings was taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in July 2017. Saturn is also showing ‘ringshine’, light reflected off the rings and onto the night side of the planet. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Kevin M. Gill
This image was taken through a single filter (at 3.23 microns), so we are seeing a greyscale image that has been tinted orange.
The planet appears extremely dark in this infrared filter since methane gas absorbs almost all of the sunlight that hits the atmosphere. However, the icy rings stay relatively bright. We also see the moons Dione, Enceladus, and Tethys.
Scientists find phosphorus — a key element for life — on a Saturn moon.
Smithsonian Magazine reports: "This is the last of six essential elements for life to be detected on Enceladus, giving the strongest indication yet that its ocean is habitable."
If you were standing on Saturn, and looking towards Earth...
The Earth and the Moon captured from Saturn by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, over 900 million miles away.
Credit: NASACassini Imaging Teamn and Processed by Jason Major
I usually follow/follow back boosters, new followers and interesting/kind people.
#PPOD: On June 25, NASA’s #JWST turned to famed ringed world #Saturn for its first near-infrared observations of the planet. The initial imagery from JWST's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) is already fascinating researchers. Saturn itself appears extremely dark at this infrared wavelength observed by the telescope, as methane gas absorbs almost all of the sunlight falling on the atmosphere. However, the icy rings stay relatively bright. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Andrea Luck
#PPOD: Mimas drifts along in its orbit against the azure backdrop of Saturn's northern latitudes in this true-color view. The long, dark lines on the atmosphere are shadows cast by the planet's rings. At the bottom, craters on icy Mimas (398 kilometers) give the moon a dimpled appearance. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute/CICLOPS
#Saturn shows off its rings in this October 2023 image from #Hubble, when the ringed planet was approximately 850 million miles (1.3 billion kilometers) from Earth. Hubble’s vision is so sharp that it resolves ring spokes spinning around the giant world: https://bit.ly/3ROeu7q
Mimas’s surprise ocean prompts an update of the rule book for moons
The shifting orbit of one of Saturn’s moons indicates that the satellite has a subsurface ocean, contradicting theories that its interior is entirely solid.