SPACE.com Image Gallery: ARRIVAL! Cassini Enters Orbit Around Saturn

ARRIVAL! Cassini Enters Orbit Around Saturn

Cassini Approaches Saturn

The above image is an artists' rendition of the Cassini spacecraft approaching the planet Saturn and its magnificent rings. The glint of light behind the magnetometer boom at the bottom of the spacecraft represents the reflection of the sun. Since Saturn is 930 million miles away from the sun, and consequently, about 746 million miles away from Earth, from this perspective one can get a sense in the image just how far the Cassini spacecraft had to travel to reach the mysterious ringed planet. Click to enlarge.

CREDIT: NASA/JPL