NASA recently published new wonderful images of Saturn, relayed by the Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft. The pictures show Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and other Saturnian satellites. They also record splendid phenomena, in which one moon passes in front of, or behind another. Studying these events allows scientists to better understand the orbits of Saturn’s moons.
Titan (5,150 km across), the second largest moon in the Solar System, is the only moon with a dense atmosphere. The atmospheric pressure on Titan’s surface is 50% greater than Earth’s. Titan’s atmosphere is hazy, since it contains thick smog that almost totally obscures the moon’s surface, and gives rise to the characteristic orange color of Titan. Interestingly, scientists find similarities between Titan’s atmosphere and the ancient atmosphere that existed on early Earth.
The Cassini images are available online at the following websites.
http://www.nasa.gov/cassini
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
http://ciclops.org
"As another year traveling this magnificent sector of our solar system draws to a close, all of us on Cassini wish all of you a very happy and peaceful holiday season," said Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute.
While it is winter in Earth's Northern Hemisphere, it is currently northern spring on Saturn, and it will remain so for several Earth years, since each of Saturn’s seasons lasts over 7 years (Saturn orbits the Sun every 29.46 years).
References
NASA
www.nasa.gov/
Wikipedia
Further Reading
http://www.nasa.gov/cassini
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov