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Images from equinox!

Emily Lakdawalla

Written by Emily Lakdawalla
August 12, 2009

There are lots of new raw images from August 10 and 11 on the Cassini raw images website now. This one, I believe, is a shot of the rings just before equinox. The rings are incredibly dark, being light from the side so much that they are now shadowing themselves, except where they are least dense -- that is, the F ring, which is brighter than everything else in this photo.

Saturn's rings near equinox

NASA / JPL / SSI

Saturn's rings near equinox
This photo of the rings was taken by Cassini on August 10, 2009, just before equinox. Nearly the whole ring system is represented, but the only ring brightly visible is the F ring.
Saturn's rings near equinox

NASA / JPL / SSI

Saturn's rings near equinox
A brightened view of a wide-angle shot of the rings near equinox brings the A and B rings barely into view. The F ring is the brightest.

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