Tag: Cassini
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NASA releases inside-out view of Saturn’s rings
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Continuing to make discoveries in the final weeks of a historic mission at Saturn, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has recorded a unique time lapse movie looking out toward the planet’s iconic icy rings. Cassini captured imagery to assemble the movie during an Aug. 20 swing through the gap between Saturn and its…
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NASA counts down final month of Cassini’s tour of Saturn
Artist’s concept of the Cassini spacecraft during one the mission’s five dives into the uppermost layers of Saturn’s atmosphere before the mission ends Sept. 15. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA’s Cassini orbiter sailed through the tenuous outermost reaches of Saturn’s atmosphere without trouble Monday, performing the first of five close swings nearer to the planet than any…
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From 1979 to 2017: How we’ve changed since the Northwest’s last total solar eclipse
When the daytime sky darkens on Aug. 21, it’ll be the first time in more than 38 years that a total solar eclipse can be seen from the mainland U.S. A lot has changed since Feb. 26, 1979, when the track of totality stretched across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. But the interest in the…
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Cassini survives closest brush with Saturn’s inner ring
This unprocessed image from Cassini’s camera taken Sunday shows Saturn (upper right) and a portion of the planet’s rings refracted through Saturn’s atmosphere. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Barreling through space near the inner edge of Saturn’s wispy D ring, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft shielded itself from bits of ice and dust Sunday as the probe made…
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NASA’s Cassini spacecraft aims to skirt Saturn’s innermost ring
Cassini took this image of Saturn and its rings May 13. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Fresh off its fifth passage through a gap between Saturn’s atmosphere and rings, NASA’s robotic Cassini spacecraft is looping toward a close brush with the planet’s innermost ring next week, when the probe will again use its high-gain antenna as…
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Cassini downlinks view of Titan’s methane clouds on third loop inside rings
Cassini took this picture of Titan’s northern cloud bands Sunday from a distance of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute The Cassini spacecraft captured captivating images of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn’s ring gap Tuesday. The distant pictures,…
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Cassini downlinks view of Titan’s methane clouds on third loop inside rings
Cassini took this picture of Titan’s northern cloud bands Sunday from a distance of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute The Cassini spacecraft captured captivating images of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan’s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn’s ring gap Tuesday. The distant pictures,…
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NASA probe finds Saturn ring gap emptier than predicted
This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn’s atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view of Saturn’s polar vortex was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first “Grand Finale” dive past the planet on April 26, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped through a gap between Saturn and its rings for…
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NASA probe finds Saturn ring gap emptier than predicted
This unprocessed image shows features in Saturn’s atmosphere from closer than ever before. The view of Saturn’s polar vortex was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its first “Grand Finale” dive past the planet on April 26, 2017. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sped through a gap between Saturn and its rings for…
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Listen to the sound of silence as Cassini crosses ‘The Big Empty’ in Saturn orbit
The hexagon-shaped cloud system at Saturn’s north polar region looms in the foreground with the planet’s rings stretching across the background, in an image captured by the Cassini spacecraft’s camera on April 26. Click on the image for a larger version. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / Kevin M. Gill Image / CC-BY-2.0) The researchers behind NASA’s…