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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Cassini Approaches Saturn
Explanation: Cassini, a robot spacecraft launched in 1997 by NASA , is close enough now to resolve many rings and moons of its destination planet: Saturn . The spacecraft has now closed to within a single Earth-Sun separation from the ringed giant . Early last month, Cassini snapped the contrast-enhanced color composite pictured above . Many features of Saturn's rings and cloud-tops now show considerable detail. When arriving at Saturn in July 2004, the Cassini orbiter will begin to circle and study the Saturnian system. Several months later, a probe named Huygens will separate and attempt to land on the surface of Titan .
| Date | December 10, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Cassini Imaging Team , SSI , JPL , ESA , NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |