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NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI
The planet Venus sparkles as a bright point of light, seen through the rings of Saturn, in this image from NASA's Cassini orbiter. Venus is the speck just above and to the right of the image's center. The picture was captured on Nov. 10, 2012.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has been sending us eye-filling pictures of the giant planet Saturn for almost nine years, but every so often, the camera also sees the small fry of the solar system — such as Venus, which shines in the two latest offerings from the Cassini imaging team.
One of the photos, captured last November, shows Venus as seen through Saturn's gossamer rings, from a distance of 884 million miles (1.42 billion kilometers, or 9.51 AU). The other picture highlights Venus as a "morning star," hanging just beyond Saturn's edge and next to the giant planet's G ring. Venus was 849 million miles (1.37 billion kilometers, or 9.13 AU) away when that picture was taken in January, according to the imaging team.
From such a distance, Venus looks like nothing more than a bright speck. Which isn't surprising, considering that Earth takes on pretty much the same appearance from Saturn, even though it's slightly bigger. The mind-boggling perspectives involved in space vistas led the late astronomer Carl Sagan to call our home planet a "pale blue dot," and I guess that makes Venus a pale yellow dot.
Venus looks lovely from millions of miles away, but it's not a place you'd want to visit, Carolyn Porco, the leader of the imaging team at the Colorado-based Space Science Institute, said in an email:
"Along with Mercury, Earth, and Mars, Venus is one of the rocky 'terrestrial' planets in the solar system that orbit relatively close to the sun," she wrote. "It has an atmosphere of carbon dioxide that reaches nearly 900 degrees Fahrenheit (500 degrees Celsius), a surface pressure 100 times that of Earth's, and is covered in thick, white sulfuric acid clouds, making it very bright. Despite a thoroughly hellish environment that would melt lead, Venus is considered a twin of our planet because of their similar sizes, masses, rocky compositions and close orbits.
"Think about Venus the next time you find yourself reveling in the thriving flora, balmy breezes, and temperate climate of a lovely day on Earth, and remember: You could be somewhere else!"
NASA / JPL-Caltech / SSI
Dawn on Saturn is greeted across the vastness of interplanetary space by the morning star, Venus, in this image from Cassini. Venus appears just off the edge of the planet, in the upper part of the image, directly above the white streak of Saturn's G ring. Lower down, Saturn's E ring makes an appearance. A bright spot near the E ring is a distant star. This picture was captured on Jan. 4, at a distance of about 371,000 miles (597,000 kilometers) from Saturn.
The Cassini spacecraft is sending back unprecedented imagery of Saturn, its rings and its moons. Click "Launch" to see some of the greatest hits from the Cassini mission.
More about Saturn and Venus:
- Space missions deliver treats from Saturn and beyond
- Solar particles moving at incredible speed near Saturn
- Venus can take on a 'cometlike' atmosphere
- Flash interactive: Guide to the new solar system
Slideshow: Month in Space
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
Hauntingly beautiful and humbling.
If they can see Venus from Saturn, obviously they can see Earth too.
Kind of scary, and kind of amazing at the same time. No plan any visits to Earth please!
Now imagine how small our planet Earth is in comparison to Saturn or Saturn's rings!
Seen better ones before, move along.
Jerry, it is so beautiful that it literally made me get teary eyed. I just wish we could figure out a practical way to send humans out there to see that in person.
We need a warp drive. Otherwise, it just won't happen.
As Hubble continues to delight folks with its stunning images from all over the universe, perhaps the most interesting surprises, are those which it continues to reveal about the celestial bodies found within our own solar system. The stunning images of Saturn's delicate rings as never seen before look so real, one wants to reach out and touch them.
Now for all the attention Jupiter gets with its massive red spot, most don't realize Saturn has the Great White Oval in the northern Hemisphere. In addition to a recently discovered unique surprise. NASA astronomers, using infrared sensitive equipment, discovered a strange thermal "hot spot" on the tip of the planet's south pole. The first to ever be discovered. Suggesting a warm "polar vortex". As the north pole has been in darkness since 1995, it may be possible it is experiencing a cold vortex.
With these new photos, revealing even more of this planet's beauty,depth of intricacies, I sure hope more who look upwards into the heavens will take a second look at what is in our own backyard, the solar system. Really try to appreciate while comprehending the jewels that have been helping to guard this precious blue planet so tiny and, for the moment alone!
Things such as this just reaffirms my belief in creation. Way to much beauty and diversity to be one big accident.
Oki,
Here! Here! Well stated.
These space telescopes are amazing.
Yes they are. And we haven't seen anything yet. I really do support unmanned exploration. Hubble, Cassini, the Martian rovers have really done a fantastic job. Not to mention the guys and gals that worked/are working these projects.
Heavy Duty................................
Just remember, we'll be decreasing the pay of all those great "guys and gals" by 20% starting April 1. Then they'll have to decide whether they can afford to continue to do the jobs they love if it means they'll lose their houses to foreclosure or be unable to send their kids to college to get the same degrees they have.
My husband is a federal employee; luckily, we've always lived below our means, so we can weather this storm. Twelve years ago I started a second job teaching college at night to pay down the mortgage on our "starter home." So it's paid off, and we never moved up to the home we could supposedly afford. Fortunately.
But good luck hiring replacements for engineers who leave when the economy picks up. "It's a great job--not only do you get paid less than the private sector, but at any time we can decide we won't pay you the full salary we promised you. Gee, too bad about the house. And I hope the kids will get over having to put the dog to sleep because the apartment won't allow him."
For crying out loud, GailMarie, can't you stop for one - JUST ONE - moment with the political crap via anecdotes? If you want to comment on politics, go to a political article and knock yourself out. If you want to cry about what's happening to your family, call your mother.
Can't we just look at the pictures and smile, and wonder what discoveries might be made out there?
Looks like a radio speaker.
"I heard it on the "X"
Ok, so when do we build the Starship Enterprise and send some folks out there to take a look?
Well they said no to the death star
The elephant in the living room is our inability to reach the speed of light, much less go faster than light. Star Trek and Star Wars both presume we will eventually discover a way to break that speed limit, but so far, we are not even close to doing it.
Without that breakthrough, we could send humans to Mars or maybe a little further, but it would be totally impractical to go much further, due to the long travel times involved. Imagine spending 20 years in a spacecraft just to get to the nearest star, and maybe find it has no planets worth exploring.
Did I hear you volunteering, Girl?
This will be just a little bit further than Dennis Tito's trip around Mars.
Like 10 times further, and when you get there you can't walk on Saturn's rings.
Makes me feel warp driven.
It appears we'll have to do a "Jedi Mind Meld" in order to accomplish this..
Not much to get excited about. Pretty to look at but some very expensive photos of what astronomical value?
Freedom isn't free, Texas. Neither is learning something new.
I'm going out on a limb here, but back-illumination of the rings by a point source could reveal some details about their structure that we might not get otherwise.
Actually, NASA didn't send that probe out there just to take pretty pictures. The beauty of the imagery is gravy for the discoveries made by Cassini about the workings of the cosmos. Perhaps the biggest discoveries from the Cassini mission have to do with Saturn's moons rather than Saturn itself: the discovery and mapping of hydrocarbon lakes on Titan, and of water-ice geysers on Enceladus. Those could point to potential reservoirs of life, present and future.
Backlighting has been a key technique for seeing Enceladus' geysers.
More about Enceladus and Titan:
-- Enceladus: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50109773
-- Titan: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/50109773
Alan: Is the reflection coming from the first and third images caused by particles and dust or is it because the planet is so cold?
Very cool pics, thanks Alan...........
In America- the land of free enterprise- if this research is so important why is there not an individual or company that will pay for it? Large oil companies spend billions on new exploration. This type of spending has become a luxury we just can't afford.
NASA used to be a nice place that I enjoyed visiting. You could touch the rocks, crawl on the displays and dream of becoming an astronaut. Now it is all about money and it is commercialized 100%, pay parking, steep admission, the best thing there is the huge playscape for the kids (what in the hell does that have to do with space?).
Stuff like this is at the top of my list to cut and quit funding. There was a time when the country needed this type of stuff to raise morale and build pride.
Just saying- what a waste of billions of dollars for 99.99% of the people!
Tex, there's more to life than the dollar sign. Too bad you don't seem to understand that.
Alan,
there was nothing personal about my comments, just agree or disagree. Your need to compartmentalize people shows how small you are in the great universe.
Cheers
Just think about how many corporate and bankster executive bonuses all of this NASA money could buy.
I bet -- what -- maybe a few bonuses.
Texas you don't see the value in space exploration. You enjoy many luxuries today that NASA has provided. The technologies they have come up with they release freely to the American people. This list includes: microwave ovens, invisible braces (translucent polycrystalline alumina), scratch resistant lenses, memory foam, the ear thermometer, shoe insoles, long distance calls (telecom satellites... you don't think AT&T paid for them), cordless tools, water filters, LEDs (almost all appliances you have have these), ....
I can go on if you would like. I can provide the government websites if you would like. Do you enjoy these technological breakthroughs? Where do you think the technology boom in the last 40 years has come from? It is a mix of public and private work.
Texas,
Whether we pursue these endeavors publicly or privately, you pay for it either way. The cost would still show up on your bank account.
As with the rest of our economy, if done publicly there is waste, if done privately there is profiteering.....six of one half dozen of the other.
Small brains from our biggest state...
Keep sending the pretty pho"billions" tos, Ask a hungry American how "pretty" the photo's are, the biggest con game going.
That's what food stamps are for.
Kind of reinforces fact that Earth and inhabitants are "not the center of the universe", merely short lived
life forms and matter at the mercy of the creator.
if i'm looking for iteleligent life I would be looking towards the sun-yes the planet spins but only one side remains turned to the sun
that's why we always see the same section of stars theres a whole other lot on the side which is always towards the sun
we can't see the stars when we spin into it because of the light diffraction it's blue we need to see the activity in space on that side because that's where I would hide-we never look towards the sun so I would sit on that side of the planet-we would never know they were there
also if ships are travelling from the dark side of earth you could only see us from the lights of the cities -it would be dark because they are flying towards the sun
we would be dark marbles in the sky-we could write a message like a ticker tape across the country as we go through the night
more ideas coming-lets see the stars during the day-wonder what we will find
What??
Huh?
? Who ?
Where?
Well, if I were looking for intelligent life on Earth, it wouldn't be in morganllcadle's post.
okay, some of the non-believers will scoff and make rude comments but here goes:
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalm 19:1
No disrespect here. As long as you can take out the literal 7 days, then the story of Genesis is amazingly close to the birth of the universe. Not bad for sheepherders.
abby, I think these pictures do a very good job of showing the handiwork of God. Nothing wrong with that--good quote, totally appropriate!
"Sheweth"?
Ha ha ha. Okay. I'm a non-believer, so I could scoff at the whole thing, but I rather found myself chuckling the most over the word "sheweth."
All of creation is in his hands as a speck of dust.
Still the most beautiful planet in the solar system.
from space the sight as the world turns would give the illusion of large and small because of the similar shape of continents from above
look in morning not at sunrise but the other way
In America- the land of free enterprise- if this research is so important why is there not an individual or company that will pay for it? Large oil companies spend billions on new exploration. This type of spending has become a luxury we just can't afford.
NASA used to be a nice place that I enjoyed visiting. You could touch the rocks, crawl on the displays and dream of becoming an astronaut. Now it is all about money and it is commercialized 100%, pay parking, steep admission, the best thing there is the huge playscape for the kids (what in the hell does that have to do with space?).
Stuff like this is at the top of my list to cut and quit funding. There was a time when the country needed this type of stuff to raise morale and build pride-but that was a long time ago.
Just saying- what a waste of billions of dollars for 99.99% of the people!
You posted that already.
Alan1234 says
Jerry, it is so beautiful that it literally made me get teary eyed. I just wish we could figure out a practical way to send humans out there to see that in person.
We need a warp drive. Otherwise, it just won't happen.
==========================================================
Maybe we can start with the 535 politicians that sit in Wash. D.C first !
Alan said we need warp drive. The folks in Washington display a great deal of inertia.
Can someone explain the appearance of the planet Saturn? In the second photo, morning star, the edge is a wide white line -- is that sunlight through the thin outer atmosphere while the dark inside is nighttime? And in the top photo, is that a mirror-like reflection of rings on the top of the planet? And finally, the third photo is clearly back-lit, but the lower half of the planet is still visible. Is that reflected light from the rings?
.
I don't know about the mirror-like reflection in the first picture, but the answer to your first and last questions is "yes" to both. By the way, did you click on "Launch slideshow"? There's many more pictures in there.
These photos are awesome. Notice how few responses there are when the paid political posters aren't interested? 40 something comments total. That's sad.
As an editor, this bothers me. The second sentence isn't actually an independent sentence/clause. It's incorrect to separate these two clauses with a period; a comma would be more appropriate.
The pictures were pretty, though. :)
Yes, I realize that this is a departure from standard usage. I went instead with a less formal phrasing. That happens from time to time, but now you have me a little more nervous about using less formality. Which may or may not be a good thing.
Ha ha... well played.
It's hard to even read casually without proofreading since I do it as part of my job. I don't often comment on grammar and style in news articles, but every now and then, I suppose I just can't help myself.
You could probably get away with using ellipses in a case like this... which may or may not be suitable for the tone you want. Talk about informal!
This makes it all worthwhile! Continue the journey America!
Beholding Saturn and its rings is A-W-E-S-O-M-E.
I hate having to sign in every dang blasted time. Anyway those first pictures gives a new meaning to Bett Midler's song "From A Distance".
"Venus appears just off the edge of the planet, in the upper part of the image, directly above the white streak of Saturn's G ring. "
For a second, I thought it said something else.
beautiful
If we had been spending the billions of dollars
on space and intelligent research instead of
blowing people up, we might accidentally have
a warp drive by now.......*sigh*
Mr Boyle,
The data collected from the Huygens probe seems alittle sketchy.I know it had a probe to measure the density of the surface of Titan,but when the probe was rotating on entry it was supposed to show the lakes of hydrocarbons on its surface.I would like more data on the surface mission part of the best probe ever launched by man.
Are they not still interested to see if life exists below the surface of ice.
The Pluto mission is one that will make more question than answers,I can't wait.
Keep these kinds of articles coming MSNBC.