Saturn is probably the single most iconic image in all of astronomy--so iconic that it was, literally, the official Discover magazine icon for a number of years. Yet, amazingly, scientists continue to find new ways to look at the ringed planet, uncovering details never before seen by human eyes. If you follow space images, you probably saw the stunning polar view of Saturn, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft from a height of 935,000 miles. And that picture tells only a small part of the story.
Backlit Saturn shows rings, planet, and an intricate system of shadows in ways impossible to see from Earth. (Credit: NASA/Cassini/Gordan Ugarkovic) Two things that got largely overlooked in last week's gasping news coverage. First, the image was taken by Cassini and transmitted back to Earth while the federal government was officially shut down--a poetic reminder of what humans can achieve when they are working together ...
