NASA's Cassini spacecraft has been studying Saturn and its moons since it entered orbit in 2004. This image, taken on Oct. 5, 2008, is a stunning mosaic of the geologically active Enceladus after a Cassini flyby.
The Cassini spacecraft looks toward the Rhea's cratered, icy landscape with the dark line of Saturn's ringplane and the planet's murky atmosphere as a background. Rhea is Saturn's second-largest moon, at 1,528 kilometers (949 miles) across. This image was taken on Oct. 20, 2008.
Titan emerges from behind Saturn while Tethys streaks into view in this colorful scene on March 24, 2008. Titan is 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles) wide; Tethys is 1,071 kilometers (665 miles) wide. Saturn's shadow darkens the far arm of the rings near the planet's limb.
This Nov. 12, 2008 image of the northern polar region of Saturn shows both the aurora and underlying atmosphere, seen at two different wavelengths of infrared light by Cassini. The image shows both a bright ring, as seen from Earth, as well as an example of bright auroral emission within the polar cap that had been undetected until the advent of Cassini.
As Saturn advances in its orbit toward equinox and the sun gradually moves northward on the planet, the motion of Saturn's ring shadows and the changing colors of its atmosphere continue to transform the face of Saturn as seen by Cassini. This image is a mosaic of 30 photos and was taken on Dec. 30, 2008.
Abundant evidence for flowing liquids is seen in this view of Saturn’s moon Titan, from sinuous, wide river channels to shorter, more chaotic drainage patterns. This radar view of Titan's south pole was taken on Dec. 20, 2007.
The brilliant moon Prometheus pulls at the nearby inner strand of Saturn's F ring in this Aug. 27, 2008 view. Gravitational tugs from Prometheus are constantly reshaping this narrow ring. Prometheus is about 53 miles (86 km) across at its widest point.
This image is the fourth skeet-shoot footprint taken during Cassini's very close flyby of Enceladus on Aug. 11, 2008. Cairo Sulcus is shown crossing the upper left portion of the image. An unnamed fracture curves around the lower right corner.
Swathed in its thick blanket of atmosphere, frigid Titan approaches the brilliant limb of Saturn on March 14, 2008.
Details of Saturn's icy rings are visible in this sweeping view from Cassini of the planet's glorious ring system. The total span, from A ring to F ring, covers approximately 40,800 miles (65,700 km) and was photographed at Nov. 26, 2008.
This detailed Cassini view of the monstrous vortex at Saturn's south pole provides valuable insight about the mechanisms that power the planet's atmosphere. This view, taken on July, 14, 2008, is 10 times more detailed than any previous image of the polar vortex.
Heat radiating from the entire length of 95-mile (150-km) long fractures is seen in this best-yet heat map of the active south polar region of Saturn's ice moon Enceladus. The data was collected on March 12, 2008.
Cassini's composite infrared spectrometer discovered an unexpected "hot spot" at Saturn's north pole. Despite being in winter darkness for more than a decade, the hot, cyclonic vortex at upon Saturn's northernmost reaches appears very similar to that found on Saturn's much sunnier south pole, and it surprised scientists with its appearance. This image was taken Jan. 3, 2008.
Saturn's north polar hexagon appears to be a long-lived feature of the atmosphere, having been spotted in images of Saturn in the early 1980s, again in the 1990s, and then by the Cassini spacecraft in the past several years. The persistent nature of the hexagon in imaging observations implies that it is present throughout Saturn's 29-year seasonal cycle. Two sides of the hexagon are seen here on Aug. 25, 2008.
This shadowy scene is one of the Cassini spacecraft's closest views of Saturn's moon Janus. The moon is 111 miles (179 km) across and was photographed by Cassini on June 30, 2008.
The shadow of the moon Mimas creates a smudge on the southern hemisphere of Saturn in this view from the Cassini spacecraft. Image taken Jan. 21, 2012.
The photo of Saturn's moon Tethys was taken on April 14, 2012 and received on Earth April 15, 2012. The camera was pointing toward Tethys at approximately 185 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated.
The photo of Saturn's moon Tethys was taken on April 14, 2012 and received on Earth April 15, 2012. The camera was pointing toward Tethys at approximately 185 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated.
