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One of the Cassini orbiter's latest pictures from Saturn highlights the wide spectrum of the ringed planet's moons. In this view, Titan looms large ... as befits its status as the solar system's second-biggest moon (Jupiter's Ganymede is a bit bigger). At 3,200 miles across, Titan is bigger than the planet Mercury. It's also the only moon in the solar system with a thick, opaque atmosphere.
Then there are the two other moons in the picture: You can probably spot 313-mile-wide Enceladus off to the right, silhouetted against Saturn's disk. But can you see 50-mile-wide Pandora? It's off to the far left, just outside Saturn's thin F ring. The tiny moon's brightness has been enhanced by a factor of two in this image, and yet it's barely perceptible unless you move your browser window around. You could easily mistake it for a speck of dust on your screen.
Believe it or not, Pandora is nowhere near the smallest of Saturn's more than 60 moons. Many of those moons measure less than five miles across, and yet they can be spotted by powerful telescopes on Earth. A couple of years ago, the Cassini probe identified a moonlet hidden in one of Saturn's rings that spans only about a third of a mile. That's a testament not only to Saturn's spectrum of satellites, but also to Cassini's powers of observation.
This particular view was captured on Jan. 15 by Cassini's wide-angle camera, at a distance of 524,000 miles from Titan. Click on the links below for still more stunning views from the Saturn-circling spacecraft:
- A double scoop of Saturn's moons
- It's a Saturnian moonapalooza!
- See what's hot on Saturn moon
- Greatest hits from Cassini
Still can't see Pandora? That may be because you're looking at the smaller version displayed on Cosmic Log. The picture on Photoblog is 50 percent bigger, which makes it easier to see the tiny moon on the left if you look really, really closely.
Join the Cosmic Log community by clicking the "like" button on our Facebook page or by following msnbc.com science editor Alan Boyle as b0yle on Twitter. To learn more about Alan Boyle's book on Pluto and the search for planets, check out the website for "The Case for Pluto."
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My God,
What I would due to live on one of Saturn's moons, preferably one closer to the planet. Imagine looking up and seeing the sky filled with beautiful Saturn. However, after about a week I'd be yelling for a cab back to Las Vegas.
The weather there is a bit chilly too ;) maybe a space cruise flying by Saturn and Jupiter would be better .. zero-g shuffleboard anyone?
I've seen several of Saturn's moons through my own telescopes. Titan is easy; Dione, Rhea and Rhea are the next easiest ones to see, but it helps to have a chart to know where to look for them. Such a great sight in just about any telescope of 60mm or more at 50x or greater.
When I was young I could easily see four of jups moons with my eyes, now I can tell where they are by the spurs of light they make, never the same with saturn though. Sometimes I can discern the tilt of the rings, but not the rings themselves, as jose said, a guide really helps, but the rag mags are often a bit confusing, now one of the many open source programs help big time!!...I have even been known to drag an extension cord out into the field to keep the LT on longer. Now that the rings are beginning to show again (finally) I am certain to make it point to snap a pic of saturn asap,(still too cold for the scopes) in fact your article is timely enough, since I put the target on my list just last week, sats moons that is. I can see by the picuture you have posted that the only way I will see enceladus is while it is transiting in front of the planet, as for the other moons, the pic does give a clue, the rings can very well serve as a background...I might get lucky with time elapse and photostacker but I can expect a lot more blur than the detail this picture has. All I can think is that some lucky manned crew is gonna get to see this sight up close and in person, sometime in the future, I hope I am there and my crewmates speak english....hehe....as for the away teams, I want enceladus (looking for crustaceons), the big-energy-geo-scouts are going for titan....I think they speak russian though....
A third of a mile? What's the difference between a moon and a big rock?
To see color images of Saturns moons go here:
www.picasaweb.google.com/shineinnovations/NewColorImagesFromCassiniOfSaturnAndItsMoonS#
liar
Isn't Pandora the moon in Avatar?
Yes, but Saturn's moon Pandora was named in 1980 after being spotted in Voyager 1 images, so don't get confused about which came first.
I can't say that I ever imaged teeny tiny Pandora, but I have photographed the 5 largest Saturn moons with the C8 I used to have, including Enceladadus.
Breathtaking. All this majesty. Simply stunning.
Whereas Jupiter is a kaleidoscope of colors, the Saturnian system is all serene, subdued pastel shades. It looks "restful" to me. Maybe I could retire there some day?
Benard-2997923- Why are you calling me a liar???
I didn't get why either.