Saturn; Cassini’s Excellent
Adventure
Saturn
• About nine times Earth’s diameter
• 95 times as massive as Earth
• 1.4 billion kilometers (900 million miles)
from Sun
• Orbits Sun in 29.5 years
• Largest moon is Titan (5100 km), 7 others
300-1500 km, 52 smaller moons
Saturn as Seen from Earth
First Visit to Saturn: Pioneer 11,
1979
Pioneer 11 View of Saturn’s Rings
Early Voyager Photograph
Not as Exciting as Jupiter
Detail of
Saturn’s
Rings
Saturn Seen From Beyond
Mimas
Enceladus
Dione
Titan
Crescent
Titan
Iapetus
Cassini
This is Rocket Science
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Launch: October 15, 1997
Venus Flyby April 26, 1998
Venus Flyby June 24, 1999
Earth Flyby August 18, 1999
Jupiter Flyby December 30, 2000
Saturn Orbit Insertion July 1, 2004
Huygens Probe Separation Dec. 24, 2004
Titan Landing January 14, 2005
Saturn From Cassini
Crescent Saturn
Behind Saturn
Behind Saturn
Rings and Shadow
Ripply Rings
Making Waves
Saturn’s South Pole
Storms in Saturn’s Far North
The
North
Polar
Hexagon
“Saucer” Moons
Hyperion
Phoebe
Iapetus By Saturn-Shine
Iapetus Ridge
Enceladus
Enceladus
Enceladus
up close
and
Personal
Dione
and Rhea
Saturn, Titan, Enceladus
Dione and
Saturn’s
Rings
Titan’s Haze
Surface of Titan
Aerial
View of
Titan
Aerial View of Titan
Surface of
Titan
Lakes on Titan
Titan’s Largest Sea
Sun Glint off Liquid
Boris Smeds: The Hero of
Huygens