RocketSTEM Issue #7 - May 2014 | Page 33

Majestic Saturn, in the Infrared: This false-color composite image shows Saturn’s rings and southern hemisphere. The composite image was made from 65 individual observations by Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping spectrometer in the near-infrared portion of the light spectrum on Nov. 1, 2008. The observations were each six minutes long. Neon Saturn: Flying over the unlit side of Saturn’s rings, the Cassini spacecraft captures Saturn’s glow, represented in brilliant shades of electric blue, sapphire and mint green, while the planet’s shadow casts a wide net on the rings. This striking false-color mosaic was created from 25 images taken over a period of 13 hours while the spacecraft was 1.58 million kilometers (1 million miles) from the planet and 34.6 degrees above the ring plane. In this view, Cassini was looking down on the northern, unlit side of the rings, which are rendered visible by sunlight southern face. www.RocketSTEM .org 31 31