A maior lua de Saturno,Titã, parece pequena aqui, fotografada à direita do planeta gigante gasoso, pela espaçonave-sonda Cassini.
Titã (5.150 quilômetros de diâmetro) está em cima, à direita. Os anéis de Saturno aparecem no topo da foto, e projetam várias sombras no planeta, visíveis no meio da imagem.
A lua Prometeu (86 quilômetros de diâmetro) aparece como um minúsculo ponto, quase imperceptível, acima dos anéis, na extrama direita da imagem. A sombra projetada por Prometeu pode ser identificada como um pequeno ponto preto no planeta, na extrema esquerda da imagem, entre as sombras projetadas pelos anéis principais e pelo fino anel F.
A sombra da lua Pandora também pode ser vista no planeta, ao sul das sombras de todos os anéis, abaixo do centro da imagem, na direção do lado direito do planeta. Pandora não aparece aqui.
Esta visão está orientada para o lado sul dos anéis, sem iluminação, cerca de 1 grau de arco abaixo do plano dos anéis.
A imagem foi obtida com a câmera grande-angular da Cassini com um filtro espectral sensível a comprimentos de onda próximos ao infravermelho, centralizados em 752 nanômetros.
A imagem foi registrada à distância aproximada de 685.000 quilômetros de Saturno, e a um ângulo espaçonave-Sol-Saturno, ou fase, de 20 graus. A escala da imagem é de 37 quilômetros por pixel em Saturno.
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, looks small here, pictured to the right of the gas giant in this Cassini spacecraft view.
Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers across) is in the upper right. Saturn's rings appear across the top of the image, and they cast a series of shadows onto the planet across the middle of the image.
The moon Prometheus (53 miles, or 86 kilometers across) appears as a tiny white speck above the rings in the far upper right of the image. The shadow cast by Prometheus can be seen as a small black speck on the planet on the far left of the image, between the shadows cast by the main rings and the thin F ring. The shadow of the moon Pandora also can be seen on the planet south of the shadows of all the rings, below the center of the image towards the right side of the planet. Pandora is not shown here.
This view looks toward the southern, unilluminated side of the rings from about 1 degree below the ringplane.
The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 426,000 miles (685,000 kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 20 degrees. Image scale is 23 miles (37 kilometers) per pixel on Saturn.
Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers across) is in the upper right. Saturn's rings appear across the top of the image, and they cast a series of shadows onto the planet across the middle of the image.
The moon Prometheus (53 miles, or 86 kilometers across) appears as a tiny white speck above the rings in the far upper right of the image. The shadow cast by Prometheus can be seen as a small black speck on the planet on the far left of the image, between the shadows cast by the main rings and the thin F ring. The shadow of the moon Pandora also can be seen on the planet south of the shadows of all the rings, below the center of the image towards the right side of the planet. Pandora is not shown here.
This view looks toward the southern, unilluminated side of the rings from about 1 degree below the ringplane.
The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 426,000 miles (685,000 kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 20 degrees. Image scale is 23 miles (37 kilometers) per pixel on Saturn.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário