A total of four NASA spacecraft have been sent to explore Saturn. Pioneer 11 was first to fly past the planet in 1979. Voyager 1 was next, followed by its twin, Voyager 2, in 1981.
The Cassini spacecraft is the first to explore Saturn's rings and moons from orbit. Cassini entered orbit on 30 June 2004 and has been sending data and images ever since.
The total cost of the Cassini-Huygens mission is about $3.26 billion. The image you see above this text was created by combining a total of 165 ultraviolet, infrared and clear filter images.
And what do you know, THE RESULTING PICTURE IS INDISTINGUISHABLE TO THE 'ARTIST'S IMPRESSIONS' I USED TO LOOK AT IN MY SCHOOLBOOKS OVER 30 YEARS AGO!
Mind you, Cassini was 1.3 million miles from Saturn when the images were taken.
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2 comments:
I find Cassini can never be too far away ;-)
Thanks Major, the same thought crossed my minid. And sorry to the rest of the world for the very 'in' joke.
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