Just Spring

The above picture, captured by the space probe Cassini on August 12, 2009, shows, in a mosaic of light and dark, a spring equinox on Saturn. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

Magic carpet

This false-colour composite image, constructed from data obtained by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, shows the glow of auroras streaking out about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the cloud tops of Saturn’s south polar region. It is among the first images released from a study that identifies images showing auroral emissions out of the entire catalogue of images taken by Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping spectrometer. Credit: NASA/JPL/ASI/University of Arizona/University of Leicester.

Who’s Who

Alternate concept of Saturn’s close-up by Cassini :). Doodle (and caption) by Nate Swinehart.

Earth and Cosmos

This image of Saturn’s northern hemisphere was taken by Cassini on September 13, 2017. It is among the last images Cassini sent back to earth. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Handout via Reuters.

Cosmic Kaleidoscope

A cosmic view of Saturn while Cassini was in its shadow. The image was taken on October 17, 2012, with the cameras turned toward Saturn and the sun so that the planet and rings are backlit. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

Cassini’s Grand Finale

Plumes of water ice and vapour from the south polar region of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Photo: AP.

Swan song

NASA’s Cassini Mission to Saturn is about to enter its final week, after a remarkable 20-year-long story of exploration and discovery. On September 15, 2017 the spacecraft will dive into the planet’s atmosphere till to burn up and disintegrate like a meteor. NASA has called it “The Grand Finale”.

The Moonstone

An image of Saturn’s moon Titan captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its final close flyby of the hazy, planet-sized moon. Photo: NASA/EPA.

Enceladus’s Dance

Hanging on Saturn’s rings: Enceladus’s dance
Photo credit: NASA/JPL

Cassini Mission, started in 1997, prepares for its “grand finale”. On November 30, the probe will start the maneuver that will crown its space odissey, scheduled for 2017, with a spectacular series of daring dives between and into Saturn’s rings which will last until September 15, 2017, when Cassini will plunge into the upper atmosphere of the gas giant planet, where it will burn up like a meteor, ending its epic mission to the Saturn system. Cassini Mission is a NASA/ESA/ASI mission to explore the Saturnian system, and expecially the ringed planet and its moons in detail. Among the most important discoveries are a global ocean hidden beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s geologically active moon Enceladus and methane seas on Titan (Saturn’s largest moon).

Rings of Saturn

Cassini orbited in Saturn’s ring plane — around the planet’s equator — for most of 2015. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.