Happy Tenth, Cassini!

Cassini has been at Saturn for ten years now. Ten years! From among my favorites:


This moody true color portrait of Saturn shows a world that can, at times, seem as serene and peaceful as it is frigid and hostile. Saturn's unlit-side rings embrace the planet while their shadows caress the northern hemisphere.
Janus (181 kilometers, or 113 miles across) is a mere speck below the rings, just left of the terminator. The view was obtained from about 15 degrees above the ringplane as Cassini continued its climb to higher orbital inclinations.

Dione and Atlas and the rings... Atlas? Yes - select the picture and look just below and to the left of Dione and behind the rings.

From 24 degrees above the unlit rings, Cassini gazes down at the A Ring, with tiny Pan in the Encke Gap and the F Ring at the far outside (the bottom of the shot). Saturn is visible through the ring.

As always, see the Cassini home page for more.