Astronomy Picture of the Day -- A Close Pass of Saturn's Moon Dione

NASA ^ | May 21, 2012 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: What's that past Dione? When making its closest pass yet of Saturn's moon Dione late last year, the robotic Cassini spacecraft snapped this far-ranging picture featuring Dione, Saturn's rings, and the two small moons Epimetheus and Prometheus. The above image captures part of the heavily cratered snow-white surface of the 1,100 kilometer wide Dione, the thinness of Saturn's rings, and the comparative darkness of the smaller moon Epimetheus. The image was taken when Cassini was only about 100,000 kilometers from the large icy moon. Future events in Cassini's continuing exploration of Saturn and its moons include tomorrow's flyby of Titan and imaging the distant Earth passing behind Saturn in June.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, ESA, NASA]

[SunkenCiv]

Gallery: Images of Yesterday's Eclipse

join or quit list APoD 'blog post new APoD topic Astronomy Picture of the Day topic & keyword Astronomy Chat, Bloggers & keyword Science Chat, Bloggers & keyword NASA's APoD archive Calendar 1995-present APoD on your desktop

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

That is an impressive photograph. Congratulations to the people who developed the space cameras, the satellites and the rockets which got them out there.

Western ingenuity at work.

Obama and Holdren will make sure that doesn’t last.

[SunkenCiv]

It’s taken a licking and kept on ticking.

[unkus]

Western ingenuity at work.

Obama and Holdren will make sure that doesn’t last.

---

You’re right on both counts.

[The Cajun]

Good-un, thanks for posting.

[Beowulf9]

Seems so lonely out there in space, just rocks floating in a cold empty void.

But a fabulous picture of them.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

imaging the distant Earth passing behind Saturn in June. Think of the geometry of that scenario. Earth is almost ten times closer to the sun than Saturn. It is never more than about six degrees from the sun as seen from Saturn. All the satellite could see of Saturn would be its dark side, so the earth will vanish behind a large black disk.

[left that other site]

Great Photo! :-)

[SunkenCiv]

:’)

[TheOldLady]

Moons? How small does an orbiting rock have to be before it is no longer a “moon?”

Great pic, Mr. Civilizations. Thank you for the APOD.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) It’s like the definition of planets — sooner or later the anti-American astronomy association will have a meeting and exclude all moonlike bodies which have been discovered by Americans and American probes.

[TheOldLady]

*Snort* [giggles]

Goodness, why am I laughing? You’re probably right!! ;-)

[martin_fierro]

What's that past Dione?

Nothing gets past Dionne.