The Scale of Saturn

[azulai]

Behold the incredible scale of Saturn

The wide angle camera onboard NASA's Cassini orbiter has been capturing incredible shots of Saturn and its various moons for years, and if this photo is any indication, it has no intentions of letting up.

Prima facie, the image looks like little more than a beautiful, wide-angle Saturnian snapshot. But look a little closer and you'll see another cosmic orb in the foreground, helping illustrate the sheer immensity of the ringed planet.

The photobombing body in question is the moon Tethys. (Or is it Saturn that's doing the photobombing?) Measuring over 660 miles across, Tethys is no shrimp. And yet, in the picture you see here (click here for a hi-res version), it measures a mere 10 pixels in diameter; it is positively dwarfed by the shadows of Saturn's ring system, shown here arcing along the planet's southern hemisphere.

For another dramatic picture that demonstrates the enormity of Saturn, check out this image of the planet looming behind its icy moon, Enceladus. Impressive right? Now go back and take another look; believe it or not, there are actually two moons in that photo.

[zeon]

the solar stystem can be an interesting place.... I do wonder at times what wpould the human race do if the sun blew up tomorrow?

[sneakyc25]

This is pretty cool too...

[azulai]

Thanks for that link--that is cool. Going to get lost studying that for while. :biggrin:

[Supernaut]

the solar stystem can be an interesting place.... I do wonder at times what wpould the human race do if the sun blew up tomorrow?

Luckily we needn't worry about the sun exploding so much as being struck by an object.

[Rainbowmum]

Absolutely spectacular shots , simply amazing.
Thank you for the share.