18 October 2007
Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Nearing its closest approach to Iapetus, Saturn's third largest moon, the Cassini spacecraft spun around to capture a sweeping view of the Saturn System. Cassini's close encounter with Iapetus occurred on 10 September 2007.
Iapetus (1,468 km across) is the only major Saturnian moon whose orbit has a significant inclination (14.7°) to Saturn's equator. From the other large moons, which orbit Saturn very close to its equatorial plane, the rings would appear nearly edge-on. From Iapetus, the rings usually appear tilted, as seen in the above image.
This natural color mosaic consists of 15 images taken in red, green and blue filters, acquired in five wide-angle camera footprints that swept across the scene.
Six Saturnian moons are visible in this image. Titan (5,150 km across), Saturn's largest moon, is to the lower right. Rhea (1,528 km across), Saturn's second largest moon, is visible against the bluish backdrop of the northern hemisphere. Dione (1,126 km across) is at center left. Tethys (1,071 km across) is near the right edge of the rings. Enceladus (505 km across) is near the left edge of the rings. Mimas (397 km across) shines as a speck of light against the ring shadows on Saturn's western limb.
Further Reading
The Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist