You are all here Cassini pic.

You are all here Cassini pic.

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Pesty

Original Poster:

42,655 posts

263 months

Sunday 28th July 2019
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https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multime...



Edited by Pesty on Monday 29th July 00:02

Beati Dogu

9,193 posts

146 months

Monday 29th July 2019
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Selfie....

V10leptoquark

5,180 posts

224 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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What is the white/blue gas that is being illuminated in the picture?

Eric Mc

122,856 posts

272 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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The zodiacal light, most likely.

Along the plane of the elliptic (the plane on which the vast bulk of the moons, planets and asteroids orbit) is a layer of dust and small particles - essentially what is left of the primordial dust cloud that formed the solar system in the first place. If the sun is hidden (as it is in this picture by the planet Saturn), you can see the dust cloud lit up by the sun.

In certain viewing conditions, it can be seen from earth as well.


dudleybloke

20,476 posts

193 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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If they had let me know I would have turned to face the camera.

DaveTheRave87

2,133 posts

96 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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Why am I always blinking in photos?

V10leptoquark

5,180 posts

224 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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Eric Mc said:
The zodiacal light, most likely.

Along the plane of the elliptic (the plane on which the vast bulk of the moons, planets and asteroids orbit) is a layer of dust and small particles - essentially what is left of the primordial dust cloud that formed the solar system in the first place. If the sun is hidden (as it is in this picture by the planet Saturn), you can see the dust cloud lit up by the sun.

In certain viewing conditions, it can be seen from earth as well.
Cheers for that.
(Couldn't work out if the illumination was local to Saturn and part of it's system or not).

Eric Mc

122,856 posts

272 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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It's visible because the camera is on the night side of Saturn which is eclipsing the sun. The Zodiacal light is therefore backlit by the sun and shows up well (dust also shows up better when backlit).

LimaDelta

6,950 posts

225 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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What blow's my mind about Saturn's rings are that with all the vast mind boggling distances and sizes relating to space in general, the rings are a perfectly human-friendly 10s of metres thick. Something in space I can actually visualise without my brain hurting.

Eric Mc

122,856 posts

272 months

Tuesday 30th July 2019
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There are lots of small items in space. Indeed, most "stuff" in space is actually very small.