Most people think that many millions of years ago, Saturn didn’t have rings at all. Instead, it had a big moon moving around it. Eventually, the moon burst and broke into pieces.
With giant Saturn hanging in the blackness and sheltering Cassini from the Sun’s blinding glare, the spacecraft viewed the rings as never before.
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Vahe Peroomian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Although the rings of Saturn may look like a permanent fixture of the planet, they are ever-changing. New analyses of the rings reveal how and when they were made, from what and whether they’ll last.
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captures Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, passes in front of the planet and its rings.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Titan is more than a billion kilometres from our Sun but occasionally it’s shadow can be seen here on Earth, with the right technology. That’s what scientists gathered in Western Australia to observe.
Scientists used to think that the ocean on Enceladus would be transient, perhaps freezing after a few million years. A new study suggests this isn’t the case.
As Cassini’s titanic mission comes to an end, we need to start thinking ahead. A combined mission to explore Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus would be a good place to start.
An illustration of Cassini as it plunges into Saturn’s atmosphere.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
The Cassini space probe discovered liquid lakes, poisonous gases and the basic elements of life on Saturn’s moon, Titan.
Cassini makes the first radio occultation of Saturn’s rings producing this simulated image with green for particles smaller than 5cm and purple where particles are larger.
NASA/JPL
The Cassini space probe took us up close and through the beautiful rings of Saturn. It captured some amazing images, and even the sound of the rings during its mission.
A Cassini portrait of five of Saturn’s moons. Janus (179km across) is on the far left, Pandora (81km across) orbits between the A ring and the thin F ring, Enceladus (504km across) is centre, Rhea (1,528km), is bisected by the right edge of the image and the smaller moon Mimas (396km) is seen beyond Rhea also on the right side of the image.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
With only days to go before NASA’s Cassini space probe ends its two-decade mission to explore Saturn, what has it revealed about the ringed planet, the second largest in our solar system?
Artist’s impression of Cassini ending its life as a fireball in Saturn’s atmosphere.
"NASA/JPL-Caltech
Gemma Ware, The Conversation and Fiona Lally, The Conversation
Fingers on buzzers.
Saturn eclipsing the sun, seen from behind by the Cassini orbiter. Earth is the small dot between the rings on the upper, left-hand side.
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
One of the most successful space exploration missions of all time still has a lot left to uncover.
Saturn and its rings backlit by the sun, which is blocked by the planet in this view. Encircling the planet and inner rings is the much more extended E-ring.
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Earth is a relatively dry planet compared to some of the other ocean worlds in our Solar system. Life needs water so what about life on these other places?
There has been much excitement this week about the possibility of water – and life – on some newly discovered exoplanets. But we can look closer to home for evidence of ET.