Saturn like you've never seen it before

Who turned out the lights on Saturn's rings?

Saturn

Well nobody, recently Saturn entered its equinox, meaning the Sun is directly above the equator. As the rings are in the same plane as the equator, they receieve much less light showing only an edge on profile towards the Sun.

This happens every 14.8 years as it travels around the Sun but this is the first time we've had a spacecraft in orbit to capture it. The above image is composed of 75 different exposures, and has had the rings brightened to make them more visible.

For the full size, ideal for wallpapers hit the Cassini imaging website.

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Paul Smith's Blog

My main areas of interest can be divided up into three neat little groups. Science, politics and technology. I'm an astronomer and sceptic. Some of my astro-photos can be found in my gallery. Politically I'm a socialist. Technology wise I'm a Microsoft MVP for Windows Desktop Experience and am actively involved in several online computing related communities. I also co-host a PC and console game related podcast called Gamercast.

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