Taking in Saturn's rings in their entirety was the focus of this particular imaging sequence. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science InstituteMarch 01, 2007
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured never-before-seen views of
Saturn from perspectives high above and below the planet's rings.
Over the last several months, the spacecraft has climbed to higher
and higher inclinations, providing its cameras with glimpses of
the planet and rings that have scientists gushing.
"Finally, here are the views that we've waited years for," said Dr.
Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute
in Boulder, Colo. "Sailing high above Saturn and seeing the rings spread
out beneath us like a giant, copper medallion is like exploring an alien
world we've never seen before. It just doesn't look like the same place.
It's so utterly breath-taking, it almost gives you vertigo."
The images taken over last two months are being released today and include
black and white and color mosaics, as well as a dramatic movie sequence
showing the rings as they appeared to Cassini while it sped from south to
north, rapidly crossing the ring plane. Also released is a playful view of
the rings from high above, with the planet removed.
Cassini's highly inclined orbits around Saturn will be progressively lowered
so that, by late June-- three years after entering orbit -- the spacecraft
will once more be orbiting in the ring plane.
The new images and movie are available at: http://www.nasa.gov/cassini ,
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://ciclops.org .
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European
Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a
division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the
Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed
and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science
Institute, Boulder, Colo.
Media contacts: Carolina Martinez 818-354-9382
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Preston Dyches 720-974-5859
Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations
Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.
2007-022
