Saturn Rings Cast in Rare Light

The shadow of Saturn's moon Mimas dips onto the planet's rings and straddles the Cassini Division in this natural color image taken as Saturn approaches its August 2009 equinox. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)

Just once every 15 years, Saturn approaches its equinox ?

NASA's Cassini

One year on Saturn is equal to 29.5 Earth years. Twice

These patterns recently revealed enormous mile-high vertical

The exact date of the approaching equinox is Aug. 11. Over

"It has been a scientist's delight to watch this almost

Launched in October 1997, the Cassini spacecraft has been

Correction: This article has been corrected to reflect the correct year Cassini went into orbit around Saturn: 2004.

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Clara Moskowitz is a science and space writer who joined the Space.com team in 2008 and served as Assistant Managing Editor from 2011 to 2013. Clara has a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She covers everything from astronomy to human spaceflight and once aced a NASTAR suborbital spaceflight training program for space missions. Clara is currently Associate Editor of Scientific American. To see her latest project is, follow Clara on Twitter.

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