Shades of Saturn
The Cassini imaging team must have been reading my mind. I was thinking over the last week that it’s been a while since we’ve seen a gorgeous color image from CICLOPS illustrating the beauty of our distant, ringed planetary neighbor. This latest release was definitely worth the wait.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute. (Click to enlarge)
Dreamy colors ranging from pale rose to butterscotch to sapphire give this utterly inhospitable gas planet a romantic appeal. Shadows of the rings caress the northern latitudes whose blue color is presumed to be a seasonal effect.
Enceladus (505 kilometers, or 314 miles across) hugs the ringplane right of center.
Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this color view, which approximates what the human eye would see. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on March 16, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.1 million kilometers (1.3 million miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 102 degrees. Image scale is 120 kilometers (75 miles) per pixel on Saturn.
What a marvelous image… tiny Enceladus adrift in the foreground against a sea of beautiful shades while the rings’ shadows gently drape across Saturn’s Northern hemisphere. Speaking of Enceladus, the Cassini team recently released this great look at the E-ring, created and fed by icy plumes rising from the small moon’s active cryovolcanism.
Cassini will be making its 13th fly-by of Titan on April 30th, exploring the “Xanadu” region of Saturn’s largest moon from an altitude of 1,855 km (1,153 miles).
9 Responses to “Shades of Saturn”
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My, my, my….Enceladus teetering on the edge of the ring…those bands of blue…that is definitely an OP…and I concur, well worth the wait.
(OP not being an acronym for “opening post” or such. Use your imagination in light of our previous Cassini discussions.)
;-)
BTW, speaking of OPs, there are three recent images on APOD I really like. I thought I’d share my “photo taste” with you:
Regarding black holes and energy.
Today’s APOD image of NGC 7635. “Cosmic sea” photos like this give me goosebumps, something I rarely experience, though appears to be happening lately. Odd. (Though, should anything be considered odd lately?)
“Now I growl when I’m pleased, and wag my tail when I’m angry. Therefore I’m mad.”
‘I call it purring, not growling,” said Alice.
“Call it what you like,” said the Cat.
Some people might think photos like this one are boring, but when I look at it, it means something. Don’t think I have it all figured out why…
:-)
Click, click…what is the physics of a ‘click’?
Physics on the Playground
well the image is very nice and the view is looking from quite near of the saturn.
In the mythological stories it is said that the saturn is fond of blue color mostly and also black colour, saturn is mostly related with these two colours, saturn is said as the planet of discipline and justice, its slow rotatations gives good and adverse impacts during the 7 and half. In India, there are number of people are fond of this daity “SATURN” they went to the saturn temple every saturday and give some black grain seeds, a iron peace, a blue and black cloth peace and bath the idol of saturn with “Oil”, the old people says that saturn is the only planet in the sky which can turn the world into steady prosperity, but it is afar from earth, they said that the rings of saturn may be of dust and peaces of stones which are revolving with this planet and they said that they are stedy though. they also said that many time these rings creates some noise, may be. there are number of stories and number of assumptions about saturn. these old people also said that there are quite huge wind like flow on saturn.
Hence hats off to saturn
Sorry Wolve, I’m mildly “boycotting” BAUT until they put the Astronomy Quiz back where it should be, so you’re stuck with my babbling. One has to maintain some principles, you know?
The more I look at that Saturn image, the more perfect it becomes: it is truly stunning, and as they say, “dreamily romantic.” (Ok, I added the dreamily.)
It contrasts to the sober mood I was put in last night after talking to my brother-in-law for 2.15 hours (probably more than a cumulative of two years worth) I was right–he is a good guy–and my sister regrettably made a bad choice (multiple choices) that I anticipate will be a hard lesson to learn. I just have to shake my head, and had I known what was going on months ago, beginning when we were all in Las Vegas, I would have read her the riot act, which has always been effective since she was a baby. I’m just not close by, nor do we talk enough.
The poor guy; he was very rational about it all, and the thing is, I completely understand his feelings. He would have been OK if she was in love with this dweeby-whoever-slave-boy and wanted to go off and live in Bora Bora with him, but that’s not the case. If she had said that he would have understood–sometimes we don’t marry the “best” people for us–my parents certainly didn’t and are OK now. But to add shame and guilt and betrayal and all those messy elements to the picture is just painful and unnecessary emotional suicide. Youth is wasted on the young, some fellow-employee used to say to me all the time when I was 21. What to do? We all seem to have learned some lessons the hard way..I just think this one could have been avoided. However, it’s not my place to start beating her up for it. In fact, he doesn’t want anyone to…he really has a good heart. ~sigh~ Where’s that WayBack machine when you need one? Well, he was glad to here from me, and I knew I’d get the accurate story from him. I may not understand quantum mechanics, but I’m rarely wrong about people. Literature is the study of human nature and how people communicate….
Anyway, that Saturn above is the best of humanity. At work the girls turn on Maury Povich on the kitchen TV where the dregs of society become ecstatic when they discover that so-and-so is or is not the father of their child. ~ugh~ Talk about the low of humanity…our Earth, unfortunately, does not have infinite depth to send these people to. So, I guess instead one has to fly….
The rain has subsided. Last Sunday morning I had gone to Kinkos to print out 84 pages apiece on lightning for each family member’s household, since they are quite clueless about it and they’re on the beach constantly. There’s SO MUCH online that there is really no good reason to be misinformed. I love this, especially the cumulonimbus cloud. My youngest niece will like coloring it. In fact, both of my Florida-sisters are teachers now, so there’s alot of useful info/teaching guides on NOAA/Red Cross for all ages. Don’t want them falling prey to the Ken Ham School of Scientific Illiteracy, now do we?
Click, click…what’s the physics of a ‘click’?
If you see something interesting tonight, take a picture. I may see it from my tent tonight, though who knows since I don’t have a reservation.
(Remind me about McDonald Observatory. ‘Hope all is OK.)
A ‘click’ is four rolls of film and my new boyfriend. Actually, there’s a bit of truth in that, as it appears that solar scopes attract hangers-on, who are fun, but…
Spaceweather’s got it all wrong; it’s not LOTR, it’s clearly a C, two eyes, and a whip, as such: C ** ~ You’ll see when I get my pictures developed, but since I’m going away in a couple of days, they will have to wait until next week. I don’t PhotoShop my own pictures–they don’t lie.
Saturday night was beautiful…the lowest tide I’ve ever seen there and the highest tide apart from a storm I’ve seen; no room to drive on the beach except where the “contraption” is. What is the contraption? It’s a part of something–an oil rig or ship–that stands in the surf like the Monolith in 2001. It has some writing on it…click…but I don’t know what it stands for. I was told someone had taken the flanges off of it. I hope they leave it there for good; it’s formed a circular gulley around it…like a moat. It looks cool just sitting there covered by barnacles.
I fell asleep to Spica on the south side, Vega in the east…slept more soundly than I have in months. One doesn’t need pills, just stars. And ghost crabs. In fact, of all the pictures I took, the one I hope to come out right is of a ghost crab who I made a bit crabby by shining my flashlight on him (how else can one spot them and avoid stepping on the tons of jellyfish?). With the flashlight between my knees I took a picture of him casting a ghostly shadow of his own shape. He was stunned (or a good sport) by the light, though I took a picture of another large one in the morning as I was cruising in my car and he did the same thing–the hunker-down stance.
Sorry for writing in a choppy manner, but I’m sunburned and tired as I got alot of exercise jumping in the waves with my new friends (who happen to work at NASA as machinists on the CIPPA and AMS, respectively.) I did snap pics of the Cheshire Cat smile of the Moon, but frankly the Moon wasn’t much of my concern this time. It was hanging over the light-pollution of Dow Chemical anyway…the show was over the water…a virtual competition between industrial light vs. Nature’s light. Quintana is an odd place. (More later.)
The place to go at night is at the Contraption. One is allowed to pitch tents there and stay all night. It is the darkest area, so I’m told, and a good place to watch meteor showers.
The PST gives my binoculars a run for their money. Too, my binoculars have a tendency to confuse me without a sky chart in a light-soaked sky. Sure, I can make out the major constellations, and it was definitely the Corvus, Scorpius, Virgo, and most “twinkly” Antares show, but with the binocs I suddenly see more stars, and the planispheres don’t help alot. I figure I need a “pocket astronomer,” like the “Incredible Shrinking Man,” a little guy who sits on my binocs with a laser pointer helping to connect the dots. If I now have a PST (Personal Solar Telescope), then everyone should have their own PPA (Personal Pocket Astronomer.) Think of the marketing possibilities….
)
The PST sat on the tripod all day, and we’d visit it intermittently to see the changes, which were noticeable but not very dramatic since the Sun being way too quiet for my taste. Though, geez, it is sensitive–it would help if we could just stop spinning and rotating for a while.
My first reaction seeing a red ball through a scope: better than Saturn, since the Sun and I go a longggg way back. 
(Not the Moon, btw, but that is a precarious story to tell around these, umm, parts.)
Oh, the tree on the beach that I took a picture of last year during the sunrise–it’s still there, though it is parallel to the berm now. It has a message on it–all natural of course. The guy in the office, James (who reminds me of a taller, skinny Steve Buscemi), remembered me from last year…”Oh, you’re the one who likes to look at the stars.” He agreed about the newer and most GHASTLY light on the end of the pier, and I told him I was thinking of trying the laser-pointer trick of turning off the lights. He was like, “Cooooolll,” with a devilish smile on his face. He also mentioned the rattlesnakes in the dunes, and that a guy got bit by one on one of the main paths. To think on the 13th under the full moon I was right near the grass digging beneath logs. He said that they had encountered a couple engaging in some sexual activity or another under one of the palm-frond tables; they were scared off, but in the morning they found a rattlesnake comfortably curled around the base of the table. Yowzer. I must have a charmed life, for I go everywhere that snakes go in Texas and have never been bitten. Or I’m just damn lucky.
The moon hung nicely in view from my apartment last night. My illegal-alien neighbor had watched the Spanish Discovery Channel and was telling me about a program that said that global warming is causing the moon to move further away, and something about the ocean caausing that, too. (Those are his words). I explained the earthshine bit of business, and he began excitedly talking about the fact that in Australia and Japon they were in the sunlight as we stood looking at the moon. He wants to buy a telescope around the $250 range–what should he get?
Maybe I’ll buy a telescope next year…or in the fall. It’s hard to justify spending yet more $$ right now. I think I’ll be at the beach alot more this summer, so the PST can suffice for now. I didn’t see any blacktip sharks, but they’re out there and come in real close in calm waters. Stingrays too! There are worm-holes in the sand (they are those circular holes that can be picked up as they are held together by worm-goo), and there are wormholes in space. I think the little guy with the big ears in England is right about a few things…people need to start climbing out of their boxes a bit more…Having been literally blinded by the Sun for over an hour once, I still don’t need glasses, thankfully, and I can spot crabs and alligators better than anyone I know (a useless talent, for sure, lol).
My vision has remained unblurred though bright lights do hurt my eyes. But, everything will become red eventually.
**The Saturn photos really rock. The first posted is the mosted. Hope all is well!
:-)
Almost forgot–you know what else was quite beautiful–all the flocks of migrating birds. On the pier the bright spotlight would turn them into flashing wings of stark white, and it was very pretty. There were storms out over the gulf flashing reds and pinks amidst the clouds, along with all the light from the rigs, shrimp boats, and buoys. There was a lot of activity going on in all directions Saturday night. One thing I didn’t do was catch up on all my reading–I had lugged all my magazines and recent books with that intention. I did manage to cover one S&T while eating a seafood platter for dinner, which was quite tasty, btw. To think I didn’t like anything but stuffed clams as a child!
Wolverine, where are you?? Hmm…
Phil’s blog has filtered three posts–that’s annoying. I don’t have time now, but I was going to say something about CIPPA, “The Son of CIPPA,” (TRAD), and the AMS. Shuttle —-> 2012 unless the CIPPA needs to be used. Far from the second source saying so. Officially 2010, probably 2012.
We (the people) need more $$$.
See ya around in a week, I hope.