All images courtesy of and © NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Speaking of heavenly bodies, have you seen the latest photos pasted into our Solar System’s family album? O.M.G. doesn’t really begin to convey the incredible grandeur of the images of Saturn taken in January by the Cassini orbiter and released March 1.
The stunning view above is a natural-color composite of 36 photographs: 12 separate sets of red, green, and blue images take over 2.5 hours. (Click on the image for a larger version; click here to see detailed image information.) The exposures were timed to capture the dark side of the rings properly, so the sunlit side of Saturn appears blown out. If you scroll through the even larger jpg, you can see several of Saturn’s larger moons skirting the edges of the outer E ring.
(This cool video composite (double-click on it to play) shows Cassini’s view as it travels north, crossing the ring plane, and several moons racing across the field of view!)
The dramatic image below (click it to see a larger version; click here to get info), an infrared closeup from below the rings, shows the atmospheric bands of storms and winds that can reach a peak of more than 1000 miles per hour.
So, what kind of state-of-the art cameras are producing these breathtaking shots? Cassini carries two imaging systems (for wide and narrow angles), each with a CCD sensor that is 1024 pixels square. That’s a little over one (1) megapixel!
But while the total pixel count is low, the pixel size, 12 microns on each side, is relatively large, which helps keep noise to a minimum and maximize dynamic range. And the lenses collecting light for these sensors are actually finely calibrated telescopes, with dozens of filters for capturing visible, near-infrared, and near-ultraviolet light. If the Hubble Space Telescope, with its much larger diameter and light-collecting area, is our celestial SLR, then the Cassini cameras are the two most powerful and versatile point-and-shoots in the galaxy… well, as far as we can currently tell.
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22 Responses to “Lord of the Rings”
Guilherme @ 2007-03-08 08:50:08 AM says:
Now that’s pretty amazing o.O
²²[.LuLi.GaRDeLiTa.]²² @ 2007-03-08 12:03:28 PM says:
uu.. que bueno que está eso… lo que daría por estar ahí viendolo…
astrophotos @ 2007-03-08 12:56:53 PM says:
I had take some photos from earth! I love to see it through my telescope
regards!
dangerpaws @ 2007-03-08 02:17:38 PM says:
how gorgeous…unbelievable.
i just signed up for this: http://shopping.icp.org/school/continuing/course.html?category_id=&product_id=26189
woohoo!
dany @ 2007-03-09 06:47:01 PM says:
no se q onda con el fotolog no me lo hacer hacer
jocelyn @ 2007-03-09 10:50:19 PM says:
hola!
q interesante la foto
esta muy buena adios!
Claudia @ 2007-03-10 12:00:14 PM says:
It’s a marvellous image, thank you for sharing it.
ditta @ 2007-03-10 03:24:34 PM says:
lenda pik
Déb @ 2007-03-10 07:45:29 PM says:
I love this
Antipiretico @ 2007-03-10 09:24:43 PM says:
When i was a boy, my favorite planet was Saturn and, it is still.
It’s awesome how NASA could get this images, so i guess that technology really means something.
Incredible.
Bye!
julieta @ 2007-03-11 04:15:24 PM says:
no me abre. aparece lo de la ubicacion geografica ¬¬
paula @ 2007-03-11 08:40:38 PM says:
No puedo cargar mi fotolog con fotos.
Me aparece ese registro geofrafico.
No se coo hacerlo.
Ayuda!
paularina @ 2007-03-11 08:41:44 PM says:
no puedo cargar!!!!!
Registro geografico…
ayudaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Johanna @ 2007-03-11 11:32:43 PM says:
i loved the info…..
i wanna become an astronomer and this is important
nasa rocks =]
sara @ 2007-03-12 07:49:36 AM says:
kiero saber como reabrir un fotolog despues d averlo cerrado
sara @ 2007-03-12 07:50:05 AM says:
pasos a seguir??
evelona @ 2007-03-12 08:52:38 AM says:
:o
I think this fotolog were the movie xD
The lord of the rings! xDDD
With frodo! and aragorn :B
haahha..
i just want astronomer! :)
Bye!
davixo @ 2007-03-12 11:05:15 AM says:
io po
http://www.fotolog.com/pato_varial/ @ 2007-03-12 01:56:01 PM says:
i have problems with my fotolog, i can’t enter our my acount of fotolog, can you help me pleace
alejandra @ 2007-03-12 02:46:57 PM says:
me estoy volviendo lok queriendo confirmar mi email para poder usar mi fotolog nuevo q puedo hacer?¡?¡?¡
ale
RoMeL @ 2007-03-12 03:22:48 PM says:
sta madre no
deha kargar naaa
komo shingaos l ago
??????????????????
۩۞۩°*+*°®ømël°*+*°۩۞۩
pLaZmAnDo mI aRt3 aUnQe lA eNvIdIa zE dEzAtE
۩۞۩°*+*°®ømël°*+*°۩۞۩
zTeNciL aRt
۩۞۩°*+*°®ømël°*+*°۩۞۩
WWW.FOTOLOG/TABAKOYALKOL
naty @ 2007-09-09 05:18:51 PM says:
porfavorr!
me puede alguien ayudar a reabrir mi fotolog!
siempre lo utilice de manera adecuada y lo tenía hace muuucho tiempo
mi fotolog era www.fotolog.com/re_naty