Space
Saturn's Moons Captured in Stunning View by NASA's Cassini Spacecraft
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Dec 15, 2015 08:07 AM EST
The NASA Cassini spacecraft has captured a stunning new image of Saturn's moons, Enceladus and Tethys, lining up like some kind of cosmic bulls-eye. The new images reveal a bit more about the moons as Cassini continues its mission.
The two moons aren't only aligned, but are also at relatively similar distances from Cassini. This means that the apparent sizes in this image are a good approximation of the relative sizes of Enceladus, which is 313 miles across, and Tethys, which is 660 miles across.
The view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from .34 degrees below the ring plane. The image was taken in red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 24, 2015. At the time, Cassini was about 1.3 million miles from Enceladus, which means the image scale on Enceladus is 7 miles per pixel. Tethys was at a distance of 1.6 million miles with a pixel scale of 10 miles per pixel.
These new image show a bit more about these two moons as Cassini continues to reveal more and more about the Saturn system.
Want more information about the Cassini mission? Visit NASA's website to find out more.
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First Posted: Dec 15, 2015 08:07 AM EST
The NASA Cassini spacecraft has captured a stunning new image of Saturn's moons, Enceladus and Tethys, lining up like some kind of cosmic bulls-eye. The new images reveal a bit more about the moons as Cassini continues its mission.
The two moons aren't only aligned, but are also at relatively similar distances from Cassini. This means that the apparent sizes in this image are a good approximation of the relative sizes of Enceladus, which is 313 miles across, and Tethys, which is 660 miles across.
The view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from .34 degrees below the ring plane. The image was taken in red light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 24, 2015. At the time, Cassini was about 1.3 million miles from Enceladus, which means the image scale on Enceladus is 7 miles per pixel. Tethys was at a distance of 1.6 million miles with a pixel scale of 10 miles per pixel.
These new image show a bit more about these two moons as Cassini continues to reveal more and more about the Saturn system.
Want more information about the Cassini mission? Visit NASA's website to find out more.
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Christmas Full Moon to Light Up December Skies for the First Time Since 1977
Do You Want to Build a Death Star? NASA Engineers Say Use an Asteroid (VIDEO)
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
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