Cassini Dazzles Scientists With a Close-Up Look at Saturn's Rings
Posted on: Friday, 2 July 2004, 06:00 CDT
The Cassini spacecraft stunned scientists Thursday with "mind- blowing" detailed images of Saturn's complex, shimmering rings taken as the robotic explorer entered orbit around the solar system's second-largest planet.
Scientists couldn't contain their excitement over the detail of the rings and gaps between them as raw pictures arrived at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena from the spacecraft more than 900 million miles away.
The black-and-white images of the rings, which are made of ice and rock, captured a variety of shapes. One of the rings appeared to have scalloped edges. Another resembled straw, while others looked like everything from fine wood grain to corrugated cardboard to ripples in a pond.
"Wow, look at that scallop on the inner edge. That's a beauty," said imaging scientist Jeff Cuzzi as a picture from the sunlit side of the rings was displayed.
Cassini ascended between two of the rings late Wednesday, fired its rocket to allow Saturn to pull it into orbit, then turned its imaging system and other instruments to the rings before descending back through the ring plane.
Imaging team leader Carolyn Porco watched the images stream in before dawn.
"It was beyond description, really, it was mind-blowing," she said later.
"I'm surprised at how surprised I am at the beauty and the clarity of these images," she said.
The spacecraft was in perfect condition, program manager Robert Mitchell said.
"Every subsystem reported in that their status was completely flawless," he said.
The $3.3 billion mission, funded by NASA and the European and Italian space agencies, is the first to orbit Saturn. Previous visits were flybys between 1979 and 1981.
The rings were the mission's first priority in the minutes after achieving orbit because Cassini will never again be as close to them during its planned 76 orbits over four years.
Related Articles
- New Ring Discovered Around Saturn
- Two New, Tiny Moons Found Around Saturn
- Scientists Giddy Over Saturn Images ; Cassini Sends 'Mind-Blowing' Images of Planet's Ice, Rock Rings
- Cassini Sends Back First Images of Saturn
- After 7-Year Flight, Cassini is Set to Orbit Saturn
- Cassini Probe Begins Crucial Maneuver to Orbit Saturn
- Cassini First to Orbit Saturn
- Spacecraft Cassini Enters Saturn's Orbit
- Cassini Becomes First Spacecraft to Orbit Saturn
- Saturn winds change unexpectedly; Cassini mission may help solve
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds