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Closeup of Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit

Closeup of Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit
This close-up view of Saturn's disk captures the transit of several moons across the face of the gas giant planet. The giant orange moon Titan – larger than the planet Mercury – can be seen at upper right. The white icy moons that are much closer to Saturn, hence much closer to the ring plane in this view, are, from left to right: Enceladus, Dione, and Mimas. The dark band running across the face of the planet slightly above the rings is the shadow of the rings cast on the planet. This picture was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on February 24, 2009, when Saturn was at a distance of roughly 775 million miles (1.25 billion kilometers) from Earth. Hubble can see details as small as 190 miles (300 km) across on Saturn.

About the Object

  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    The semi-major axis of Saturn's orbit about the sun is 9.5 astronomical units (A.U.) or roughly 1.4 billion km.
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    The planet (without rings) has a diameter of roughly 75,000 miles (120,000 km) at the equator.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    The Hubble images and videos were created from HST data from proposal 11956: K. Noll, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, L. Frattare, C. Christian, F. Hamilton, and H. Bond (The Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA). B. Januszewski (STScI), M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley/STScI), and C. Go (Phillipines) also helped with image conception, proposal preparation/processing and data analysis.
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>WFPC2
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    February 24, 2009 14:25 UT
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F439W (B), F555W (V), and F675W (R)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Saturn
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Planet with Satellites
  • Release Date
    March 17, 2009
  • Science Release
    Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit Snapped by Hubble
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: M.H. Wong (STScI/UC Berkeley) and C. Go (Philippines)

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Closeup of Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the WFPC2 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F439W (B) Green: F555W (V) Red: F675W (R)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit Snapped By Hubble

Quadruple Saturn Moon Transit Snapped By Hubble

On February 24, 2009, the Hubble Space Telescope took a photo of four moons of Saturn passing in front of their parent planet. In this view, the giant orange moon Titan casts a large shadow onto Saturn's north polar hood. Below Titan, near the ring plane and to the left is the...

HST Image of Saturn Moon Transits

HST Image of Saturn Moon Transits

This sequence of images captures the parade of several of Saturn's moons transiting the face of the gas giant planet. This is a rare event because the rings are tilted edge on to Earth every 15 years. The top frame captures the giant moon Titan and its shadow near Saturn's...

HST Image of Saturn: February 24, 2009 12:12 UT

HST Image of Saturn: February 24, 2009 12:12 UT

HST Image of Saturn: February 24, 2009 14:25 UT

HST Image of Saturn: February 24, 2009 14:25 UT

HST Image of Saturn: February 24, 2009 15:27 UT

HST Image of Saturn: February 24, 2009 15:27 UT

Compass and Scale Image of Saturn

Compass and Scale Image of Saturn

Annotated Image of Saturn's Rings and Moons

Annotated Image of Saturn's Rings and Moons

Photo Sequence of Saturn: February 24, 2009

Photo Sequence of Saturn: February 24, 2009

Saturn's Rings Viewed from Earth

Saturn's Rings Viewed from Earth

As Saturn travels around its orbit, Hubble sees a different view of the tilted rings from a position near Earth. The rings nearly disappear twice during Saturn's approximately 30-year orbit, because we see them edge on and they are extremely thin relative to their diameter.

Saturn Quadruple Transit Science Visualization

Saturn Quadruple Transit Science Visualization

This Hubble movie shows four of Saturn's moons moving across the face of their parent planet on February 24, 2009. Icy moons Enceladus and Dione are on the far left, while the large orange moon Titan and icy Mimas are on the right.

Saturn Quadruple Transit Science Visualization (Narrated)

Saturn Quadruple Transit Science Visualization (Narrated)

This Hubble movie shows four of Saturn's moons moving across the face of their parent planet on February 24, 2009. Icy moons Enceladus and Dione are on the far left, while the large orange moon Titan and icy Mimas are on the right.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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