Slightly Beneath Saturn's Ring Plane
影像提供: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA
Explanation:
When orbiting Saturn, be sure to watch for breathtaking superpositions of moons, rings, and shadows. One such picturesque vista was visible recently to the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn. In late February, Cassini captured Rhea, the second largest moon of Saturn, while looking up from slightly beneath Saturn's expansive ring plane. Signature dark gaps are visible in the nearly edge-on rings. A shadow of Saturn's F ring cuts across the cratered ice-moon. Cassini is scheduled to continue sending back images from the orbit of Saturn until at least 2008.
說明:
繞行土星時，別忘了觀賞扣人心弦的衛星、環系和暗影之集景。由現在正繞行土星的無人太空船卡西尼號所拍攝的美麗視野，正是這樣的範例之一。在二月底時，卡西尼號從土星巨大的環系平面下方一點的位置仰看，捕捉了土衛五 (Rhea)--土星第二大的衛星、將近側視的環系、與及黝黑環縫。一道來自土星F環的的暗影，正好切過飽受撞擊的這顆土星冰衛星頂端。從土星的軌道上，卡西尼號預期至少到2008年前將繼續回傳更多的影像。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
