Saturn's Mysteries

Images of Saturn and its moons, highlighting the planet's rings and surface features, captured by the Cassini spacecraft.

Moons that Pass in the Night

Saturn's moon Enceladus, seen beyond the outline of the planet's night side, spews water ice from its south polar region. The plumes can be faintly seen at the bottom of the moon in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Saturn's innermost moon Pan orbits the giant planet seemingly alone in a ring gap its own gravity creates. This image was taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, this image.

A surge in brightness appears on the rings directly opposite the Sun from the Cassini spacecraft. This opposition surge travels across the rings as the spacecraft watches. This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 9 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on June 12, 2007 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 853 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 524,374 kilometers (325,830 miles) from Saturn. Image scale is 31 kilometers (19 miles) per pixel. http //photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08992

$Saturn's B and C rings disappear behind the immense planet. Where they meet the limb, the rings appear to bend slightly owing to upper-atmospheric refraction$

Saturn's moon Tethys casts a shadow on the planet's A ring alongside the larger shadow cast by the planet itself. Cassini.

Pan in View

Tethys' Shadow

Saturn's Ring System

Spokes Comin' Atcha

Moons that Pass in the Night

Spectacular Spokes

Saturn at a Tilt

The Cassini spacecraft looks past the illuminated side of Saturn's rings to the brilliant moon Enceladus.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft images dark spokes on Saturn's B ring. Spokes are radial markings on Saturn's rings that continue to interest scientists, and they can be seen here stretching left to right across the image.

This view, acquired by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, looks toward the unilluminated side of Saturn's rings from about 47 degrees below the ringplane.

Enceladus Afar

About a month after Saturn's August 2009 equinox, shadows continue to grace the planet's rings in this image taken by NASA's Cassini Orbiter. Pan runs through the center of this image.

Mimas and the Great Division

Prometheus dips into the inner F ring at its farthest point from Saturn in its orbit, creating a dark gore and a corresponding bright streamer

The shadow of the moon Janus crosses the Encke Gap as it strikes the plane of Saturn's rings in this image taken as the planet approached its August 2009 equinox.

A moon's shadow strikes Saturn's rings near bright spokes on the B ring near the center of this image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft about one month after the planet's August 2009 equinox.

Two pairs of moons make a rare joint appearance. The F ring's shepherd moons, Prometheus and Pandora, appear just inside and outside of the F ring (the thin faint ring furthest from Saturn) as seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

A crescent Saturn appears nestled within encircling rings in this image captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Clouds swirl through the atmosphere of the planet. Prometheus appears as a speck above the rings near the middle of the image.

Pandora, seen here by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, in isolation beside Saturn's kinked and constantly changing F ring.

The Agitator

The shadow of the moon Mimas is cast on Saturn's outer A ring in this image which also shows a couple of moons and a collection of stars.

Among the interplay of Saturn's shadow and rings, Mimas, which appears in the lower-right corner of the image, orbits Saturn as a set of the ever-intriguing spokes appear in the B ring (to the right of center) in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Darkside Beauty

NASA's Cassini spacecraft looks past the night side of Saturn, dimly lit on the left of this image by ringshine, for a subtly distorted view of the planet's rings.

Rough Around the Edges

This wide and sweeping view of the sunlit rings of Saturn takes in the impressive variety in their structure -- from the clumpy and perennially intriguing F ring to the many waves, ringlets and gaps in the A and B rings and the Cassini Division in between

This image obtained by NASA's Cassini spacecraft of the outer edge of Saturns B ring, reveals the combined effects of a tugging moon and oscillations that can naturally occur in disks like Saturn's rings and spiral galaxies.

The Cassini Division appears to emerge out of Saturn's shadow in this Cassini spacecraft image

Fantastic Planet

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, looks small here, pictured to the right of the gas giant in this Cassini spacecraft view.

From on high, the Cassini spacecraft spots a group of faint spokes against the striped landscape of the B ring, the dark region in the middle of the rings here. The spokes appear as irregular blotches

Feeling Gravity's Pull

Distant Titan, its northern hemisphere drenched in the sunlight of late spring, hangs above Saturn's rings in this image captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

The rings share this view with Mimas, a moon whose gravity influences the rings in this image taken by NASA's Cassini Orbiter.

Wide View of Saturn's F Ring

Less intrusive than her sibling shepherd moon, Pandora nonetheless provides a gravitational influence that helps confine and perturb the F ring's shape

Surface features are visible on Saturn's moon Prometheus in this view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Most of Cassini's images of Prometheus are too distant to resolve individual craters, making views like this a rare treat.

Round the Outside

A Faint Ring Shines

F Ring Knot

Saturn's Rings and Stars

NASA's Cassini gazes across the icy rings of Saturn toward the icy moon Tethys, whose night side is illuminated by Saturnshine, or sunlight reflected by the planet. Tethys was on the far side of Saturn with respect to Cassini here; an observer looking upward from the moon's surface toward Cassini would see Saturn's illuminated disk filling the sky. Tethys was brightened by a factor of two in this image to increase its visibility. A sliver of the moon's sunlit northern hemisphere is seen at top. A bright wedge of Saturn's sunlit side is seen at lower left. This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 10 degrees above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on May 13, 2017. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 750,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 140 degrees. Image scale is 43 miles (70 kilometers) per pixel on Saturn. The distance

This splendid view offers a detailed look at the faint rings within the Cassini Division as well as a rare glimpse of the Keeler gap moon, Daphnis. The small, ring embedded moon is a bright unresolved speck above center, near outer edge of A ring

The limb of Saturn appears bright as NASA's Cassini spacecraft peers through several of the planet's rings. The curvature of the planet can be seen on the bright left half of the image.

The shadow of the moon Epimetheus is cast onto Saturn's rings, striking the outer-most part of the A ring and only just nipping the F ring.

Epimetheus is a lonely dot beyond Saturn's rings. The little moon appears at lower left, outside the narrow F ring. Several very faint spokes lurk in the B ring, at right

The effects of the small moon Prometheus loom large on two of Saturn's rings in this image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft a short time before Saturn's August 2009 equinox.

Saturn's moon Prometheus, seen here looking suspiciously blade-like, is captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft near some of its sculpting in the F ring.

Wind World

Shadows cast by Saturn's rings darken the southern hemisphere of the planet and give a truncated appearance to the bottom of this Cassini spacecraft image.

Edge of the Cassini Division

The dark B ring of Saturn is highlighted here by numerous faint spokes. The two most prominent spokes are seen below and to the right of center

Between the Spokes

Three of Saturn's moons, Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas, are captured in this group photo from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Ultraviolet South Pole

Saturn's shadow interrupts the planet's rings, leaving just thin slivers of the rings visible in this image, which shows a pair of the planet's small moons. Cassini.

The wavemaker moon, Daphnis, is featured in this view, taken as NASA's Cassini spacecraft made one of its ring-grazing passes over the outer edges of Saturn's rings on Jan. 16, 2017. This is the closest view of the small moon obtained yet.

New Rings for Cassini's Division

Pandora Gets Kinky

Titan Shines Through

Saturn appears to NASA's Cassini's cameras as a thin, sunlit crescent in this unearthly view. Citizens of Earth, being so much closer to the Sun than Saturn, never get to enjoy a view of Saturn like this without the aid of our robot envoys.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft watches as the shadows of Saturn's rings grow wider and creep farther south as the seasons progress from the planet's August 2009 equinox.

Where's Saturn

Mimas On the Move

Spellbinding Saturn

Spokes, those ghostly radial markings on Saturn's B ring, appear bright compared to the rings in this image taken a little more than a month after the planet's August 2009 equinox. Cassini.

January's Moon

The striated appearance of the F ring is immediately apparent in the region of the ring that trails behind the moon Prometheus

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captures three magnificent sights at once: Saturn's north polar vortex and hexagon along with its expansive rings.

The thin sliver of Saturn's moon Prometheus lurks near ghostly structures in Saturn's narrow F ring in this view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Many of the narrow ring's faint and wispy features result from its gravitational interactions with Prometheus (86 kilometers, or 53 miles across). Most of the small moon's surface is in darkness due to the viewing geometry here. Cassini was positioned behind Saturn and Prometheus with respect to the sun, looking toward the moon's dark side and just a bit of the moon's sunlit northern hemisphere. Also visible here is a distinct difference in brightness between the outermost section of Saturn's A ring (left of center) and rest of the ring, interior to the Keeler Gap (lower left). This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 13 degrees above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 13, 2017. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 680,000 miles (1.1

Pan and moons like it have profound effects on Saturn's rings. The effects can range from clearing gaps, to creating new ringlets, to raising vertical waves that rise above and below the ring plane, as seen by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Prometheus and Pandora

Even in a peaceful looking scene such as this one of Saturn and its moon Tethys, NASA's Cassini spacecraft reveals clues about how Saturn is ever-changing; scars are seen here of the huge storm that raged through much of 2011.

Kingdom of Saturn

Saturn's many cloud patterns, swept along by high-speed winds, look as if they were painted on by some eager alien artist in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Wide-Angle Image of Saturn's Rings

Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. The shapes of moons can teach us much about their history. This is if from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captures a couple of small moons in this image taken while the spacecraft was nearly in the plane of Saturn's rings.

Bright spokes can be seen on Saturn's B ring just in front of the shadow cast on the rings on the night side of the planet in this NASA Cassini spacecraft image.

A single jet feature appears to leap from the F ring of Saturn in this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. A closer inspection suggests that in reality there are a few smaller jets that make up this feature.

Saturn's northern hemisphere reached its summer solstice in mid-2017, bringing continuous sunshine to the planet's far north. The solstice took place on May 24, 2017. The Cassini mission is using the unparalleled opportunity to observe changes that occur on the planet as the Saturnian seasons turn. This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 17 degrees above the ring plane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on April 17, 2017 using a spectral filter which preferentially admits wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 939 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 733,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Saturn. Image scale is 44 miles (70 kilometers) per pixel.

Four Ways to See Saturn

This infrared view from high above Saturn's ringplane highlights the contrast in the cloud bands, the dimly glowing rings and their shadows on the gas giant planet. The overall effect is stirring

This movie begins with a view of the sunlit side of the rings. As the spacecraft speeds from south to north, the rings appear to tilt downward and collapse to a thin plane

Sleek Rings, Rugged Moon

Although difficult to see at first, more than one moon is at work sculpting Saturn's rings in this view from the Cassini spacecraft

A Halo of Moons

Saturn's Stripes

Beyond the Limb

The shepherd moon Prometheus is lit partly by reflected light from Saturn as it lurks near the heavily perturbed F ring

Shadows adorn Saturn in this view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which also includes the moon Rhea, shown orbiting between the planet and the spacecraft and appears above the rings on the left of the image.

From beneath the ringplane, the Cassini spacecraft takes stock of Saturn's southern skies and peeks through the rings and beyond their shadows at the northern latitudes

Gravity of the Situation

In this image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, the gravitational pull of Saturn's moon Prometheus creates patterns in Saturn's F ring.

Aligned Moons

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