In the Shadow of Cronus
Saturn in eclipse
Yes, this is a real picture. More accurately, it’s 165 pictures pasted together from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft’s flyby of Saturn as the planet between the probe and the sun. From this unique vantage point, the contrast of light and shadow enabled astronomers to discern new bands of ice and dust — perhaps the remnants of a shattered moon — between the inner and outermost edges of the ring system. This panorama reveals Saturn casting a massive shadow some 75,000 miles long over Cassini’s camera. Though the brightness in this image has been enhanced to reveal detail, the photo’s sharp contrasts owe foremost to the millions of square miles of orbiting ice crystals that ring the planet. The dark gaps between the bands are thought to be the result of gravitational forces exerted by the planet’s many moons, but these forces are not the only cause. The Encke Gap, among the largest of these vacuous rings, is maintained by Saturn’s innermost moon and “ring shepard,” Pan, which plows through the orbiting field of ice and dust.
Tags: Cassini spacecraft, dust, Encke Gap, gravity, ice, moon, planet, probe, ring, Saturn, sun
