Today, Cassini made its first dive between Saturn’s rings. Over the years, Cassini’s taken some breathtaking, literally out-of-this-world photos of the planet. Here are a few of my favorites, courtesy of JPL@NASA:
Earth, as seen between Saturn’s rings
Saturn’s high-speed winds
Stereo view (3D) of Pan, one of Saturn’s smallest moons. It kind of looks like a peach pit.
Montage of Phoebe, Saturn’s largest irregular moon. (Am I being too obvious with the reference?)
“Overhead shot” of Saturn (spatial orientation in space is weird)
Panoramic shot of Saturn, 165 images combined
Criss-crossed rings
“The Day the Earth Smiled”
And, in honor of Cassini’s grande finale, here is a poem by Tracy K. Smith, entitled “My God, It’s Full of Stars.”
Favorite line: Our eyes adjust to the dark.
