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File:Saturn during Equinox.jpg

Summary

Description
English: This captivating natural colour view of the planet Saturn was created from images collected shortly after Cassini began its extended Equinox Mission in July 2008.
Español: Esta foto de colour natural del planeta Saturno fue creada de las fotos tomadas por Cassini durante su misión extendida del equinoccio en julio de 2008.
Français : Vue en couleurs naturelles de la planète Saturne, créée d'après des images recueillies par la sonde spatiale Cassini peu de temps avant qu'elle commence sa mission « équinoxe » en juillet 2009. Six lunes sont aussi visibles: Titan (5150 kilomètres de diamètre), Janus (179 kilomètres), Mimas (396 km), Pandore (81 km), Épiméthée (113 km) et Encelade (504 km).

Original Caption Released with Image:

As Saturn advances in its orbit toward equinox and the sun gradually moves northward on the planet, the motion of Saturn's ring shadows and the changing colors of its atmosphere continue to transform the face of Saturn as seen by Cassini.
This captivating natural colour view was created from images collected shortly after Cassini began its extended Equinox Mission in July 2008. It can be contrasted with earlier images from the spacecraft's four-year prime mission that show the shadow of Saturn's rings first draped high over the planet's northern hemisphere, then shifting southward as northern summer changed to spring (see PIA06606 and PIA09793). During this time, the colors of the northern hemisphere have evolved from azure blue to a multitude of muted-colored bands.
This mosaic combines 30 images—10 each of red, green and blue light—taken over the course of approximately two hours as Cassini panned its wide-angle camera across the entire planet and ring system on July 23, 2008, from a southerly elevation of 6 degrees.
Six moons complete this constructed panorama: Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles, across), Janus (179 kilometers, or 111 miles, across), Mimas (396 kilometers, or 246 miles, across), Pandora (81 kilometers, or 50 miles, across), Epimetheus (113 kilometers, or 70 miles, across) and Enceladus (504 kilometers, or 313 miles, across).
NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured these images at a distance of approximately 1.1 million kilometers (690,000 miles) from Saturn and at a sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 20 degrees. Image scale is 70 kilometers (43.6 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations centre is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.
Date 23 July 2008
Source http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/365640main_PIA11141_full.jpg http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11141
Author NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
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This image has been assessed under the valued image criteria and is considered the most valued image on Commons within the scope: Saturn. You can see its nomination at Commons:Valued image candidates/Saturn during Equinox.jpg.
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This image was selected as picture of the day on Wikimedia Commons for 6 October 2009. It was captioned as follows:

English: A natural colour view of the planet Saturn during equinox.
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