Close-Up Image Of Saturn’s Baby Moon Pandora

Image of Saturn's moon 'Pandora' is a visual treat, courtesy of NASA. 

The Cassini-Huygens Mission, which is a collaborative assignment of European Space Agency, NASA and Italian Space Agency, has released an image of Pandora, one of Saturn's baby moons. The image was clicked by cameras on board the Cassini spacecraft, which went past in closest distance of Pandora, a few days ago.

NASA scientists said that the image was captured by one of the specialized cameras on the Cassini spacecraft when it grazed past at an approximate distance of 25,200 miles (40,500 kilometers) from Pandora.

It appears that space enthusiasts have finally got to view a clear image after 12 years, which has been possible because of technologically advanced cameras on board the spacecraft that has enabled a sharp image of Saturn's baby moon Pandora, Zee News reported.

Pandora is a really small moon of Saturn and is unable to use its own gravity to form a sphere of its own accord. The image does give viewers an impression of a fossil. The material as can be seen in the image appears as if it is a plaster of Paris, according to CNET. 

Cassini that is presently traversing outside the F-ring of Saturn enabled amazing images of Saturn's smallest moons. The images were captured at about 40,500 kilometers from Pandora and the resolution of the image is nearly 787 feet (240 meters) per pixel. That is why the image shows the rough surface and craters which gives a fossilised appearance to the Moon.

The first ever image of Pandora Moon was captured by the Voyager 2 probe in August 1981. But it was not  a clear image. The best view perhaps before the present one was taken of Pandora before the recent fly past was taken in 2005 at a distance of 32,000 miles (52,000 kilometers).

Space aficionados can tap into this space for more updates and images of Pandora.