Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2017

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 SATURN Saturn's night side Stunning views like this image of Saturn's night side are only possible thanks to our robotic emissaries like Cassini. Until future missions are sent to Saturn, Cassini's image-rich legacy must suffice. Because Earth is closer to the Sun than Saturn, observers on Earth only see Saturn's day side. With spacecraft, we can capture views (and data) that are simply not possible from Earth, even with the largest telescopes. The image was taken in visible light with the wide-angle camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft on June 7, 2017. The view was obtained at a distance of ap- proximately 1.21 million kilometers from Saturn. The Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on Sept. 15, 2017. [NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute] These view was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 21, 2017, at a distance of approximately 986,000 kilometers from Titan. [NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute] OnMay 29, 2017, NASA's Cassini looks toward the night side of Saturn's moon Titan in a view that highlights the extended, hazy nature of the moon's atmosphere. [NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute] This view was taken on May 10, 2006 from above the ringplane and looks toward the unlit side of the rings, at a distance of approximately 2.9 million kilometers from Saturn and 4.1 million kilometers from Titan. [NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute] TITAN