Ian Regan • Nov 08, 2016
Serene Saturn (or the “Glutton for Punishment” mosaic)
Blast my impulsive nature! A week ago Saturday I decided -- against my better judgment -- to tackle this monster of a mosaic. I call it the "Glutton for Punishment" mosaic. It took me a week to finish the work, but I believe the results were worth it. The sequence was captured by Cassini over the course of 90-plus minutes on the morning of October 28 with the wide-angle camera, while the narrow-angle camera was acquiring a color scan of the main rings.
Only three moons are visible as far as I'm able to ascertain: Epimetheus (just above the right ansa, near Saturn); and Atlas and Prometheus (at the tip of the left ansa). Pan is too faint to be detectable, and Janus must be just out of frame. The hexagon is prominent. I think I see vertical relief on the circular collar external to the polar hexagon, on the side nearest the terminator. These shots from the Saturn Viewer at the Ring-Moon Systems node show the positions of the moons at the beginning and end of the mosaic.
A few technical details: the product consists of 21 frames across 7 footprints, filtered in groups of Red, Green, and Blue. Here's how the raw images come together:
Let’s Go Beyond The Horizon
Every success in space exploration is the result of the community of space enthusiasts, like you, who believe it is important. You can help usher in the next great era of space exploration with your gift today.
Donate Today