In Pictures: Exploring Mars with Curiosity
In Pictures: Meteors
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Dancing with the Stars
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Black Holes
In Pictures: Space Photos of the Day: Asteroids
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Visions of the future
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Massive Storms
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Gas giants
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Heavenly Rings
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Female Astronauts
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: The Moon
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: A Blue Planet
This false-color image shows the incredible, complex beauty of Saturn's rings. The massive ring system is over 150,000 miles in diameter.
The varying temperatures of Saturn's rings are depicted here in this false-color image from the Cassini spacecraft. This image represents the most detailed look to date at the temperature of Saturn's rings.
This is a rare view of Saturn's rings seen just after the Sun has set below the ring plane. This perspective is unusual because the Earth is slightly above Saturn's rings and the Sun is below them. Normally we see the rings fully illuminated by the Sun.
This false-color view of the rings of Uranus was made from images taken by Voyager 2 on Jan. 21, 1986, from a distance of 2.59 million miles. All nine known rings are visible here; the somewhat fainter, pastel lines seen between them are contributed by the computer enhancement.
The best view of Saturn's rings in the ultraviolet indicates there is more ice toward the outer part of the rings, than in the inner part, hinting at the origins of the rings and their evolution. Images taken during the Cassini spacecraft's orbital insertion on June 30 show compositional variation in the A, B, and C rings.
The color in this mosaic image is greatly exaggerated. In such views, imaging scientists have noticed color variations across the diffuse rings that imply active processes sort the particles in the ring according to their sizes. Looking at the E ring in this color-exaggerated view, the distribution of color across and along the ring appears to be different between the right side and the left. Scientists are not sure yet how to explain these differences, though the difference in phase angle between right and left may be part of the explanation.
This artist's concept depicts a distant hypothetical solar system, similar to the one recently discovered with the Spitzer Space Telescope. In this artist's rendering, a narrow asteroid belt filled with rocks and dusty debris orbits a star similar to our own Sun when it was approximately 30 million years old (about the time Earth formed). Within the belt a hypothetical planet also circles the star. Using the Spitzer's heat-seeking infrared eyes, astronomers have recently discovered a similar debris belt surrounding a distant star.
This view of Saturn's A-ring was obtained when Voyager 2 was about 1.7 million miles from the planet. Of note here are the Cassini Division, in the extreme lower right corner of this image and the Encke Division, the prominent gap in the A-ring, at upper left. The Voyager project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Voyager 1 looked back at Saturn on Nov. 16, 1980, four days after the spacecraft flew past the planet, to observe the appearance of Saturn and its rings from this unique perspective. A few of the spokelike ring features discovered by Voyager appear in the rings as bright patches in this image, taken at a distance of 3.3 million miles from the planet. Saturn's shadow falls upon the rings, and the bright Saturn crescent is seen through all but the densest portion of the rings.
This is a Voyager 2 false-color image of Saturn's rings. Subtle color variations due to differences in surface composition of the particles making up the rings are enhanced in this image produced by combining ultraviolet, clear, and orange frames.
Jupiter's faint ring system is shown in this color composite as two light orange lines protruding from the left toward Jupiter's limb. This picture was taken in Jupiter's shadow through orange and violet filters. The colorful images of Jupiter's bright limb are evidence of the spacecraft motion during these long exposures.
Mimas drifts along in its orbit against the azure backdrop of Saturn's northern latitudes in this true color view. The long, dark lines on the atmosphere are shadows cast by the planet's rings. Saturn's northern hemisphere is presently relatively cloud-free, and rays of sunlight take a long path through the atmosphere.
Three newly-discovered streams arcing high over the Milky Way Galaxy are remnants of cannibalized galaxies and star clusters. The streams are between 13,000 and 130,000 light-years distant from Earth and extend over much of the northern sky. Two of the newly discovered streams are almost certainly the remains of ancient star clusters.
This infrared composite image of the two hemispheres of Uranus was obtained with Keck adaptive optics. The representative balance of these infrared images which were selected to display the vertical structure of atmospheric features gives a reddish tint to the rings, an artifact of the process. The North pole is at 4 o'clock.
Saturn's B and C rings shine in diffuse, scattered light as the Cassini spacecraft looks on the planet's night side. The southern hemisphere is lit by sunlight reflecting off the rings, while the north shines much more feebly in the dim light that filters through the rings and is scattered on the northern hemisphere. The fine, innermost rings are seen silhouetted against the southern hemisphere of the planet before partially disappearing into shadow.
Speeding toward the pale, icy moon Dione, Cassini's view is enriched by the tranquil gold and blue hues of Saturn in the distance. The horizontal stripes near the bottom of the image are Saturn's rings. The spacecraft was nearly in the plane of the rings when the images were taken, thinning them by perspective and masking their awesome scale.
Surely one of the most gorgeous sights the solar system has to offer, Saturn sits enveloped by the full splendor of its stately rings. Taking in the rings in their entirety was the focus of this particular imaging sequence. Therefore, the camera exposure times were just right to capture the dark-side of its rings, but longer than that required to properly expose the globe of sunlit Saturn.
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Israel’s high court has issued an injunction against extending the separation barrier through the Palestinian village of Batir, famed for its 2,500-year-old terraces and aqueducts.
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