Departing Saturn

Departing Saturn
December 16, 2004
PIA NumberPIA00335
Language
  • english

Voyager 1 looked back at Saturn on November 16, 1980, four days after the spacecraft flew past the planet, to observe the appearance
of Saturn and its rings from this unique perspective. A few of the spokelike ring features discovered by Voyager appear in the
rings as bright patches in this image, taken at a distance of 5.3 million kilometers (3.3 million miles) from the planet. Saturn's
shadow falls upon the rings, and the bright Saturn crescent is seen through all but the densest portion of the rings.



For a high resolution image, click here.