Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2004 August 5 
Posted on 08/05/2004 1:12:45 PM PDT by petuniasevan
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2004 August 5
Explanation: Sprawling across hundreds of light-years, emission nebula IC 1396 mixes glowing cosmic gas and dark dust clouds. Stars are forming in this area, only about 3,000 light-years from Earth. This particularly colorful view of the region is a composite of digital images recorded through narrow band filters. The filters actually block out most of the light ... but narrowly transmit wavelengths characteristic of specific glowing atoms in the nebula. In fact, the color scheme used here makes it easy to trace some of the elements which contribute to the emission from IC 1396. Emission from sulfur atoms is shown in red, hydrogen atoms green, and oxygen in blue. The beautiful and useful result is still very different from what the eye might see. IC 1396 lies in the high and far off constellation of Cepheus.
Saturn's southern polar region exhibits concentric rings of clouds which encircle a dark spot at the pole. To the north and toward the right, wavy patterns are evident, resulting from the atmosphere moving with different speeds at different latitudes.
 Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Download a larger version of image here |
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras, were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.
Encircled in purple stratospheric haze, Saturn's largest moon, Titan, appears as a softly glowing sphere in this colorized image taken on July 3, 2004, one day after Cassini's first flyby of that moon. Titan has a dense atmosphere composed primarily of nitrogen with a few percent methane. The atmosphere can undergo photochemical processes to form hazes.
 Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Download a larger version of image here |
This ultraviolet view of Titan has been falsely colored. The main body is colored pale orange as seen in true color images. Above the orange disc are two distinct layers of atmospheric haze that have been brightened and falsely colored violet to enhance their visibility. It is not currently understood why there are two separate haze layers. This and other questions await answers as the four-year Cassini tour continues, with many more planned flybys of Titan. The upcoming October 2004 flyby of Titan will be 30 times closer than that of July 2.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.
YES! You too can be added to the APOD PING list! Just ask!
Did Jimi Hendrix have a future vision of Titan on one of his acid trips, or what? ;-)
Wow again! Thanks, petuniasevan.
Axiom pinggggggg
Can't wait for Huygens!
You can almost feel the immensity of Saturn in that shot. Saturn is all gas of course, and very lightweight, but earth could drop in there and just disappear without a trace.
THANKS! Welcome back!
Thank you (-:
Most of the NASA workers I've met have been conservative (old and new staff).
Carl Sagan was an atheist but he wanted to believe in life on other planets.
That is so beautiful! Thank you.
The lead photo reminds of one of my favorites, The Pillars of Creation.
"...Titan's purple covering points to a fuzzy past..."
More like John FUBAR Kerry's fuzzy past.
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