Cassini Solstice Mission Latest

Rings and Enceladus

A crescent Enceladus appears with Saturn's rings in this Cassini image.

Cassini Sees the Two Faces of Titan's Dunes

A new analysis of radar data reveals patterns tied to altitude and latitude.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Part 2

In this second of two columns, I will talk about Dr. Lebreton’s post-launch contributions to the mission through his well-earned retirement last year.

Insider's Cassini: Dr. Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Part 2

In this second of two columns, I will talk about Dr. Lebreton’s post-launch contributions to the mission through his well-earned retirement last year.

Titan (T-81) Flyby Jan. 30

On this high-altitude encounter, the imaging science subsystem (ISS) performed high-resolution observations along Titan’s leading hemisphere at high southern latitudes, including a late view of Ontario Lacus before the Sun sets for southern winter. This was one of ISS’ so-called “10-pointer” flybys, i.e. one of the two scientifically most significant Titan flybys for ISS during the Solstice mission.

Cassini Top 10 Science Highlights -- 2011

All throughout 2011, the Cassini spacecraft collected science at a torrid pace. Mission scientists dished up exciting results all year long, from scrutinizing a huge new storm on Saturn, to discovering salty particles in Enceladus' plumes, to studying Saturn's rings with radio science experiments. Those Cassini scientists took a quick breath to compile their list of Top 10 Science Highlights. See what in 2011 stood out to them.

Cassini Top 10 Images of 2011

Where were you during the storm? In 2011, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft circled Saturn for a front-row view of the huge storm there. One of those looks made the mission scientists’ list of Top 10 images of 2011. What else made the list? Check it out.

Predators and Prey, Fluffy and Slick – The Ecology of Saturn’s Ring Particles

Two sets of measurements made by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in the ultraviolet and infrared ranges of radiation have provided new insights into the behavior and make-up of Saturn’s ring particles. Researchers using Cassini’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph have shown that the processes that form temporary clumps of particles and then destroy them are driven by the gravity of some of Saturn’s moons.

Status Report: Cassini Testing Part of Its Radio System

Engineers with NASA's Cassini mission are conducting diagnostic testing on a part of the spacecraft’s radio system after its signal was not detected on Earth during a tracking pass in late December. The spacecraft has been communicating with Earth using a backup part.

Welcome Disruption

The line of Saturn's rings disrupts the Cassini spacecraft's view of the moons Tethys and Titan. Larger Titan is on the left. Tethys is near the center of the image. This view looks toward the Saturn-facing sides of Tethys and Titan. The angle also shows the northern, sunlit side of the rings from less than one degree above the ring plane.

NASA's Cassini Delivers Holiday Treats from Saturn

No team of reindeer, but radio signals flying clear across the solar system from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have delivered a holiday package of glorious images. The pictures, from Cassini's imaging team, show Saturn's largest, most colorful ornament, Titan, and other icy baubles in orbit around this splendid planet. The release includes images of satellite conjunctions in which one moon passes in front of or behind another.

What's That Sparkle in Cassini's Eye?

The moon Enceladus, one of the jewels of the Saturn system, sparkles peculiarly bright in new images obtained by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The images of the moon, the first ever taken of Enceladus with Cassini's synthetic aperture radar, reveal new details of some of the grooves in the moon's south polar region and unexpected textures in the ice. These images, obtained on Nov. 6, 2011, are the highest-resolution images of this region obtained so far.

A Southern Swing High Over Titan

On this high-altitude encounter of Titan, the imaging science subsystem (ISS) performed high-resolution observations around closest-approach along the anti-Saturnian and trailing hemispheres at mid- to high southern latitudes. This is one of ISS' so-called ''10-pointer'' flybys, i.e. one of the two scientifically most significant Titan fly-bys for ISS during the Solstice mission.

Cassini Chronicles the Life and Times of Saturn's Giant Storm

New images and animated movies from NASA's Cassini spacecraft chronicle the birth and evolution of the colossal storm that ravaged the northern face of Saturn for nearly a year. These new full-color mosaics and animations show the storm from its emergence as a tiny spot in a single image almost one year ago, on Dec. 5, 2010, through its subsequent growth into a storm so large it completely encircled the planet by late January 2011.

Portraits of Moons Captured by Cassini

NASA's Cassini spacecraft successfully completed its closest-ever pass over Saturn's moon Dione on Monday, Dec. 12, slaloming its way through the Saturn system on its way to tomorrow's close flyby of Titan. Cassini is expected to glide about 2,200 miles (3,600 kilometers) over the Titan surface on Dec. 13.

RESERVE_What's That Sparkle in Cassini's Eye?

Cassini obtains the first-ever synthetic aperture radar images of Enceladus.

Dr. Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Huygens, and a Salute to the Mars Science Laboratory

I had the honor of interviewing Jean-Pierre Lebreton, the European Space Agency (ESA) Project Scientist and Mission Manager for the Huygens mission, just as he retired from a decades-long career with ESA. Meanwhile, preparation was underway for the Mars Science Laboratory launch.

Rings In Between

Saturn's rings lie between a pair of moons in this Cassini spacecraft view that features Mimas and Prometheus. Mimas is the more noticeable of the two moons and is in the top left of the view. The smaller moon Prometheus is near the center of the image and is closest to Cassini. Mimas is beyond the rings and farthest from the spacecraft.

Dione: What Lies Beneath?

On Dec. 12 the Cassini spacecraft flies by Dione at about 61 miles (99 kilometers) to examine the moon's internal structure.

Dione 'D-3' Flyby: What Lies Beneath?

On Dec. 12 the Cassini spacecraft flies by Dione at about 61 miles (99 kilometers) to examine the moon's internal structure. The radio science measurement should add insight into how highly structured the center of the small moon is, which in turn should provide clues about its recent history and possible activity.

T-79: Taking Titan's Temperature

The composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) gets prime time during the Titan 'T-79' flyby scheduled for Dec. 13, 2011, a day after the Cassini spacecraft visits Dione. CIRS performs a wide variety of observations, including mapping of surface and atmospheric temperatures. It also takes "limb sounding" measurements where it inspects a cross section of the atmosphere, which could provide insights into the transition of the northern polar circulation from spring to summer.

Cassini Science League: Kicking Up Dust

Dust particles act in an unusual way around Saturn. Instead of being attracted to the giant planet as might be expected, dust particles are ejected away from Saturn in streams that move at speeds of more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) per second. Using Cassini data, a team of scientists led by H.-W. (Sean) Hsu has now successfully modeled these dust streams.

Odd Hyperion

Cassini looks at highly irregular moon Hyperion in this view from the spacecraft's flyby of the moon on Aug. 25, 2011. Hyperion has an irregular shape, and it tumbles through its orbit: that is, it does not spin at a constant rate or in a constant orientation. (A standard reference latitude-longitude system has not yet been devised for this moon.) Images such as this one extend previous coverage and allow a better inventory of the surface features, the satellite's shape and changes in its spin.

Hiding Little Brother

During a flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Oct. 1, 2011, the Cassini spacecraft snapped this portrait of the moon joined by its sibling Epimetheus and the planet's rings. Enceladus (313 miles, or 504 kilometers across) takes up the center of the image, and its famous south polar jets can faintly be seen at the bottom of the image. See Bursting at the Seams to learn more about those jets.

Scarred Moon

Saturn's moon Tethys shows off its tortured surface in this Cassini image. On the top left of the image there is huge Odysseus Crater. See The Great Basin for a closer view. On the bottom right there is Ithaca Chasma, a series of scarps that runs north-south across the moon for more than 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). North on Tethys is up and rotated 25 degrees to the right.

In, Around, Beyond Rings

A quartet of Saturn's moons, from tiny to huge, surround and are embedded within the planet's rings in this Cassini composition. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is in the background of the image. Next, the wispy terrain on the trailing hemisphere of Dione can be seen on that moon which appears just above the rings at the center of the image. Pandora orbits beyond the rings on the right of the image. Finally, Pan can be seen in the Encke Gap of the A ring on the left of the image.

Widening Southern Shadows

The 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. See The Rite of Spring to learn more about the changing seasons and to see a view from equinox when the rings cast only a thin shadow on Saturn's equator. See Sliding Shadows for an even earlier view of the rings' wide shadows draped high on the northern hemisphere.

Saturn's Moon Enceladus Spreads Its Influence

Thanks to its icy jets, Enceladus is the only moon in our solar system known to influence substantially the chemical composition of its parent planet. 'We can see the water leaving Enceladus and we can detect the end product -- atomic oxygen -- in the Saturn system.'