Emily Lakdawalla • Aug 15, 2013
Pretty picture: spectacular Saturn and Titan
There's not much to say about this photo, other than: "wow." Thanks to Bill Dunford for pointing out this set of images on Cassini's raw images website.
EDIT: A few hours after I originally posted my version of this photo, Gordan Ugarkovic posted a much better version, so I've replaced my version with his version below. It's amazing how he managed to bring out details in the banding of Saturn's atmosphere.
![Saturn and Titan](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x763_crop_center-center_60_line/20130815_sa_ti_20130811.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x572_crop_center-center_60_line/20130815_sa_ti_20130811.jpg 576w)
We're looking at Saturn and Titan from nearly behind. The Sun shines through Titan's atmosphere, making nearly a complete ring around it. This photo doesn't bear too-close scrutiny, because the data for red and green channels was returned to Earth at only half its full resolution. That's why the rings look a little pixelated. But the composition is really stunning. Nice work, Cassini team!
I've received several comments on Twitter about this photo, how "science fiction-y" it looks. That's space exploration for you -- turning science fiction into science fact.
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