Six Saturnian satellitesand something more

"In a rare moment, the Cassini spacecraft captured this enduring portrait of a near-alignment of four of Saturn's restless moons. Timing is critical when trying to capture a view of multiple bodies, like this one. All four of the moons seen here were on the far side of the rings from the spacecraft when this image was taken; and about an hour later, all four had disappeared behind Saturn.

"Seen here are Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) and Dione (1,126 kilometers, or 700 miles across) at bottom; Prometheus (102 kilometers, or 63 miles across) hugs the rings at center; Telesto (24 kilometers, or 15 miles across) is a mere speck in the darkness above center.


"A trio of moons hovers over Saturn's rings during this pass taken by the Cassini spacecraft. From left to right are the moons Dione, Tethys and petite Pandora.

"At Dione, the remains of a 205-mile (330-kilometer) wide impact are can easily be spotted on the moons bottom right, while Tethys sports the scar-like Ithaca Chasm across its surface. Small Pandora only hints at the secrets locked within its surface.

"While all three satellites appear in a line, appearances are deceiving. Only Dione and Pandora are on the near side of the rings and much closer to Cassini than the centrally situated Tethys, which sits on the rings' far side.

"For comparison's sake, Dione is 700 miles (1,126 kilometers) wide, while Tethys is about 665 miles (1,071 kilometers) in diameter and Pandora a mere 52 miles (84 kilometers) wide."


"N00044174.jpg was taken on December 03, 2005, and was received on Earth on December 04, 2005. The camera was pointing toward SATURN from a distance of approximately 2,418,964 kilometers."