Cassini Just Gave Us A Rare Look At Saturn’s ‘Wavemaker’ Moon

Cassini Just Gave Us A Rare Look At Saturn’s ‘Wavemaker’ Moon

Saturn’s tiny moon friend, Daphnis, is finally getting its close-up. In a stunning new image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, the elusive moon can be seen peeking out from within the Keeler gap of Saturn’s rings. According to NASA, the image was taken in visible (green) light by Cassini’s narrow-angle camera.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

It’s the closest look at Daphnis we’ve ever had — and I’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty cute.

Cassini Just Gave Us A Rare Look At Saturn’s ‘Wavemaker’ Moon

Though Daphnis is small — just 8km in diameter — it’s mighty. As it orbits in the Keeler gap at the outer edge of Saturn’s A ring, the moon’s gravity creates waves horizontally and vertically. That alone distinguishes the “wavemaker” moon from the 61 others orbiting the gas giant.

Cassini first observed Daphnis on 1 May 2005. Since then, the spacecraft has been Saturn’s most popular (and only) visitor, snapping photos of geysers and flowing liquid methane. In November, Cassini began one of its final acts — the ring grazing phase — which is yielding up-close-and-personal shots of Saturn’s moons and rings.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. In September 2017, Cassini will end its 20-year mission by thrusting itself into Saturn’s atmosphere. At least we can expect more cool photos before then.

[NASA]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.