Suitable For Framing: Latest Eye Candy from Cassini

Enceladus and Tethys hang below Saturn's rings in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SS

[/caption]

Another Cassini stunner! This gorgeous, suitable-for-framing image shows two of Saturn’s moons hanging below the planet’s rings, as if strung on a necklace. Beautiful! Enceladus (504 kilometers, 313 miles across) appears just below the rings, while Tethys (1062 kilometers, 660 miles across) appears below. In this shot, Cassini is also closer to Tethys than Enceladus: the spacecraft is 208,000 kilometers (139,000 miles) from Tethys and 272,000 kilometers (169,000 miles) from Enceladus. This image was taken on September 13, 2011.

See below for some raw images from Cassini’s October 1 close fly by of Enceladus, including a great shot of the moon hovering in front of Saturn’s rings, and a view of the geysers.

Remove All Ads on Universe Today

Join our Patreon for as little as $3!

Get the ad-free experience for life

A closeup view of Enceladus with Saturn's rings in the background. This raw image was taken on Oct. 1, 2011. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

A view of Enceladus from farther away, with the rings slicing through the view of Saturn in the background. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

A view of the geysers on Enceladus, from Cassini's latest close flyby of the moon, on October 1, 2011.Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/