On September 15th , Cassini ’s 20 - year - recollective geographic expedition of the Saturnian system will finally — unluckily — come to an remnant . But even in its final act , the spacecraft has been sending back some of the most detailed images it ’s ever taken . In one of its late dive into the gap between Saturn and its rings , the space vehicle took a sequence of photos that provide an prominent and unusual aspect of Saturn ’s main ring — and now it ’s a mini - film .
According toNASA , Cassini took 21 photos within a yoke of just four min on August 20th . Due to the advantage point of the wide - slant television camera , it ’s a bit knotty to make out each of the big ring , but the most consecrated among us can see the phantasmal C ring and glorious B band . An especially astute viewer will also comment the Cassini Division , or the 3,000 mile ( 4,800 kilometer ) gap between Saturn ’s A and B ring . ( Here ’s adetailed walk - throughthat explore the positioning of each ring and their individual properties . ) And no , you may not name your band “ Cassini Division ” because that ’s what I ’m calling my blank space goth Joy Division cover stripe .
It ’s hard to look at the pic — or any of Cassini ’s hauntingly beautiful images — and not cogitate of something fitly morose for its Grand Finale . I personally recommend syncing this video with the“Tears in the Rain ” monologuefrom Blade Runner . Hopefully , these last few weeks of Cassini ’s life will be its most memorable — we’ll be sad to see it go .
[ NASA ]
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