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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.
A Close Pass of Saturn's Moon Dione
Explanation: What's that past Dione? When making its closest pass yet of Saturn's moon Dione late last year, the robotic Cassini spacecraft snapped this far-ranging picture featuring Dione, Saturn's rings, and the two small moons Epimetheus and Prometheus . The above image captures part of the heavily cratered snow-white surface of the 1,100 kilometer wide Dione , the thinness of Saturn's rings, and the comparative darkness of the smaller moon Epimetheus . The image was taken when Cassini was only about 100,000 kilometers from the large icy moon . Future events in Cassini's continuing exploration of Saturn and its moons include tomorrow's flyby of Titan and imaging the distant Earth passing behind Saturn in June.
Gallery: Images of Yesterday's Eclipse
| Date | May 21, 2012 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit: Cassini Imaging Team , ISS , JPL , ESA , NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |