An Infrared View of Saturn

This infrared image of Saturn provides detailed information on the clouds and hazes in Saturn's atmosphere. The blue colors indicate a clear atmosphere down to the main cloud layer. Most of the northern hemisphere that is visible above the rings is relatively clear. The dark region around the south pole indicates a big hole in the main cloud layer. The green and yellow colors indicate a haze above the main cloud layer. The red and orange colors indicate clouds reaching up high into the atmosphere. The rings, made up of chunks of ice, are as white as images taken in visible light. Two of Saturn's moons were captured: Dione in the lower left and Tethys in the upper right. Tethys is just ending its transit across the disk of Saturn.