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Cassini Lightning

April 12, 2010

NASA's Cassini scientists waited years for the right conditions to produce the first movie that shows lightning on another planet - Saturn.

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Grand Finale and end of mission animations are available to download here.
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Grand Finale animations
Animations: Grand Finale and end of mission
Other Cassini web videos are available to download here.
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Cassini videos
Other Cassini Web Videos
Animations, interviews and mission b-roll available for download.
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Cassini video reels
Cassini Video Reels for Download
For 13 years the spacecraft’s incredible, truly otherworldly images have revealed the wonder of Saturn in surprising, often awe-inspiring ways.
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Cassini at Saturn
Cassini: The Wonder of Saturn (Video)
: This mosaic combines views captured by Cassini as it made the first dive of the mission's Grand Finale on April 26, 2017, and shows details in bands and swirls in the atmosphere.
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Images and video that show how Cassini's cameras captured a large swatch of Saturn's cloud tops.
Cassini Noodle Mosaic of Saturn
This computer-generated animation shows all of Cassini's orbits - affectionaly called the "ball of yarn" by mission planners.
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A computer-generated representation of all Cassini's Saturn orbits - affection called the "ball of yarn" by mission planners.
The Ball of Yarn: Cassini's Orbits
This short computer-animated film highlights Cassini's accomplishments and Saturn and reveals the science-packed final orbits between April and September 2017.
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Short animated film
Cassini's Grand Finale
Cassini mission planners created this animation to showcase Cassini's final 22 orbits - the mission's Grand Finale.
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Animation showing 22 orbit plots around Saturn.
Grand Finale Orbits Petal Plot
On Nov. 30, 2016, NASA's Cassini mission begins a daring set of ring-grazing orbits, skimming past the outside edge of Saturn's main rings.
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Video describing Cassini's orbits of the F ring.
Cassini's High-Flying, Ring-Grazing Orbits
The trio of ridges on Titan known as Mithrim Montes is home to the hazy Saturnian moon's tallest peak. 
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Black and white image of Titan's surface from above.
Radar View of Titan's Tallest Mountains
This map of Saturn's moon Titan identifies the locations of mountains that have been named by the International Astronomical Union.
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Color map showing locations of mountains on Titan.
Mountains of Titan Map - 2016 Update
Artist's concept of the final orbits of the Cassini spacraft at Saturn.
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Illustration of orbital paths.
The Final Orbits: Cassini Grand Finale (Artist's Concept)
Three of Saturn's moons -- Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas -- are captured in this group photo from NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
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Three Times the Fun
This graphic shows a 3-D model of 98 geysers whose source locations and tilts were found in a Cassini imaging survey of Enceladus' south polar terrain by the method of triangulation.
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This graphic shows a 3-D model of 98 geysers whose source locations and tilts were found in a Cassini imaging survey of Enceladus' south polar terrain by the method of triangulation.
Geyser Basin in 3-D (video)
Radar echoes received by Huygens.
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audio file
Radar echoes from Titan's Surface
This colorized flyover movie from NASA's Cassini mission takes viewers over the two largest seas on Saturn's moon Titan and nearby lakes.
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This colorized flyover movie from NASA's Cassini mission takes viewers over the two largest seas on Saturn's moon Titan and nearby lakes.
Flying over an Extraterrestrial Land of Lakes
This movie, made from images obtained by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, shows the clouds of a hurricane-like storm, which circulate around the north pole of Saturn out to 88.5 degrees north latitude.
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This video shows the clouds of a hurricane-like storm, which circulate around the north pole of Saturn out
Saturn Hurricane Movie
Shadows reveal the topography of Saturn's south polar vortex. At high resolution, a new, inner ring of isolated, bright clouds is seen. These clouds are localized regions of convective upwelling, an important clue to understanding how heat energy is transported in Saturn's atmosphere.
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Saturn's south polar vortex
The Yet Yawning Gulf
Cassini sails low over the surface of Iapetus on approach to its close encounter with the enigmatic moon on Sept. 10, 2007.
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Screenshot from the 'Flight over Iapetus' movie
Flight over Iapetus
This view, acquired with the sun almost directly behind Saturn, reveals a previously unknown faint ring of material coincident with the orbit of the small moon Pallene.
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A previously unknown faint ring coincident with the orbit of Pallene
Moon-Made Rings
Specially designed Cassini orbits place Earth and Cassini on opposite sides of Saturn's rings, a geometry known as occultation. Cassini conducted the first radio occultation observation of Saturn's rings on May 3, 2005.
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A simulated image of Saturn's rings
Waves and Small Particles in Ring A
This near-true color view from Cassini reveals the colorful and intriguing surface of Saturn's moon Iapetus in unrivaled clarity
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Iapetus
Dark-stained Iapetus
This radar image of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan was acquired on October 26, 2004, when the Cassini spacecraft flew approximately 1,600 kilometers (994 miles) above the surface and acquired radar data for the first time.
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'Black Cat' on Titan
'Black Cat' on Titan

The Journey

Cassini Timeline

Timeline

Dive deep into the story of the Cassini-Huygens mission to explore the Saturnian system.
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The Spacecraft

The Spacecraft

Find out how the Cassini orbiter and Huygens lander work and how we use the powerful suite of science instruments with this engaging 3D model.
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Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

A glimpse at the men and women behind the exploring machines.
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