This is a unique image of Saturn in natural colour, exactly what you would have seen if you were riding the Cassini spacecraft – wearing your cowboy hat, knitted astronaut sweater and Star Trek underpants – on November 4, 2009.
Nothing is more Christmasy to me than the Nutcracker. OK, and Christmas pudding. Sooooo – nothing is more Christmasy than the Nutcracker and Christmas pudding – and probably eggnog. Maybe Christmas carols too. OK. Nutcracker, Christmas pudding, eggnog, carols and Saturn’s moons.
newVideoPlayer("/giz-saturn.flv", 500, 375,"");
You Mysterious Saturn Hexagon you, where did you come from? Who made you? There are no Russians in Saturn? Or are there? Whatever, you freak me out even more than the Norwegian spiral, because you can eat two Earths simultaneously.
newVideoPlayer("/rings_gizmodo.flv", 500, 375,""); Sir Isaac Newton would be amazed by this awesome video, showing Saturn moons causing gravitational waves as they orbit near its F Ring. These images can only be taken every 15 years, during Saturn’s equinox. Thankfully, Cassini is there now.
NASA is considering re-purposing its successful Cassini-Huygens probe to do something that it wasn’t designed for, but is nonetheless amazing: searching for signs of life on Saturns frozen moon Enceladus. Back in July 2005 Cassini observed a huge plume of ice particles and water vapour shooting from the tiny moon, suggesting the possibility that there’s a liquid ocean hiding beneath its surface.
