4 years ago, the Cassini probe took a last portrait of Saturn before diving

Article originally published on November 24, 2017.

How many years before seeing Saturn so closely, in all its splendor? Here is the last great portrait of the “lord of the rings”, a giant planet which gravitates to 1.3 billion kilometers from theorbit earthly. It was taken on September 13, 2017 by the probe Cassini, two days before his suicide dive in theatmosphere of the giant planet she explored for 13 years.

This stunning photo actually brings together 42 red, green and blue images captured by the wide-angle camera of Cassini. They were assembled by the mission’s imagery team to compose this family portrait in ” colors natural ”. Yes, a family portrait because there is not only Saturn surrounded by its multiple rings in the photo. Take a good look, we can also see several satellites of his court which has more than 60: Prometheus, Pandora, Janus, Epimetheus, Mimas and Encelade.

A portrait of “Farewell to Saturn”

The team had been preparing this farewell sight for years. Needless to say how painful it was for them. “It was hard to say goodbye but how lucky we were to be able to see everything through the eyes of Cassini! “, greeted Elizabeth Turtle, who has collaborated during all these years in imaging with the JHUAPL laboratory.

“This ‘farewell to Saturn’ will forever remind us of the spectacular conclusion of the wonderful time that humanity has spent in the intimate study of the most emblematic planetary system of our time. Soleil », said Carolyn Porco. Head of Imaging Department Ciclops, she remembers the last photo of saturn taken by the probe Voyager 1, “For me, one of the most evocative images ever taken in the exploration of the Solar System”, 37 years ago and in which she was involved (prior to leading the Cassini imaging team at the Institute for Space Science in Boulder, she worked on the Voyager team).

Saturn seen by Cassini before its arrival

Article by Remy Decourt published on December 10, 2003

Today all eyes are on Mars due to the strong activity expected over the next few weeks with the landing of 3 rovers. The British rover Beagle 2 opens the ball with a first attempt on the night of December 24 to 25, 2003. Then, it will be the turn of the two rovers of the MER program of the Nasa to reach the surface of the red planet. Spirit is expected on January 3, 2004 and his twin Opportunity must land at the antipodes of the first, January 24, 2004. But, let us not forget Cassini-Huygens who continues his journey started on October 15, 1997 towards Saturn.

The last snapshot (see below) of the ringed planet taken by the probe shows the planet, its ring system and five of its satellites. It was taken on November 9, 2003 at a distance of 111.4 million km. This image is compared to the one taken a year earlier (see photo below), on October 21, 2002, at a distance of 258 million km.

For HD images, the planet appears sharper, details unseen a year earlier are revealed and the smallest measure some 668 km. The image can distinguish many more rings and shows instructive details of the planet’s atmosphere.

The satellites that appear faintly bright in the image are Rhea, Dione, Enceladus and, to the right and above the planet, Tethys and Mimas. Due to their lowbrightness, NASA increased it to make them appear in the image.

Cassini-Huygens

Cassini-Huygens is a joint project between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The American orbiter Cassini is to orbit around Saturn in July 2004 and study the planet, its magnificent ring system and its satellites throughout its operational phase. As for the European probe Huygens, it will reach the surface of Titan in January 2005. However, due to the thick atmospheric layer surrounding the main moon of Saturn, scientists are unable to determine whether the small robot rest on a solid surface or liquid, hence the uncertainty on theduration of the mission.