Electric Saturn | Space Wallpaper

Electric Saturn
In a composite, false-color image snapped by Cassini in 2007, Saturn glows in unearthly colors. (Image credit: VIMS Team, U. Arizona, ESA, NASA)

In 2007, the Cassini spacecraft took a series of images of Saturn and its rings from a distance of roughly 1.6 million kilometers. By combining some of these images, false-colored in three bands of infrared light, the stunning picture was created. Rings A and C reflect the Sun's light while Ring B blocks it due to its thickness. The planet itself glows in red and green, in darkness and in light, respectively. [Learn more about Cassini's mission.]

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.