Eclipse of Rhea by Saturn

Filed under pretty pictures, Cassini, amateur image processing, Rhea, global views, Saturn's moons, animation

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On August 19, 2008, Cassini observed Rhea as it passed into Saturn's shadow.

NASA / JPL / SSI / color animation by Gordan Ugarkovic

These eclipses were most frequent around Saturn's equinox. Cassini's science team is particularly interested in using the eclipses to study how the temperature of the icy surface drops after its quick plunge into darkness, and, later, how quickly it heats when the lights come back on again.

Original image data dated on or about August 19, 2008.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. For uses not allowed by that license, contact us to request publication permission from the copyright holder: Gordan Ugarkovic