Hyperion...

Hyperion, moon of Saturn.  From Cassini, via APOD, of course:

Hurricane on Saturn...

NASA is calling it “The Rose”.  I'll call it awesome:

Huygens Landing on Titan...

This isn't an actual movie taken by a video camera, but rather a simulation of a movie constructed from data taken from instruments on the Huygens probe that landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005.  It's a marvelous visualization of that technical triumph.  From APOD, of course...

Lakes With Ice – on Titan!?!

The intrepid Cassini robot explorer is still zipping around the Saturnian system, returning reams and reams of great science data.  One product of recent close passes to Saturn's moon Titan is high-resolution radar images of the Titanian surface (one of these is at right).

The bright areas on this image are from ground areas covered with frozen methane “ice”; these areas reflect radar well.  The dark areas are suspected of being liquid methane “lakes”.  Some of these are quite large, about like the U.S. Great Lakes.  But look closely, and you'll see some lake-shaped areas that are of intermediate brightness.  Scientists think these are lakes of liquid methane that are partially covered with frozen methane ice.

Titan is one of the most fascinating objects in our solar system.  The surface gravity is just 0.14g, or about 1/7th of Earth's.  The atmospheric pressure is about 50% higher than Earth's, but it's very cold (just above -300°F) and it has no oxygen.  Even so, biologists think that its at least possible that there might be life on Titan.  I would love to see a Curiosity-style rover exploring Titan...

Helene...

Helene is one of the tiny moons of Saturn.  In 2011, Cassini made a close fly-by of Helene, and two of the images are here combined in an anaglyph to give a beautiful stereo view of the tiny satellite.  Put on your blue/red glasses and have a look-see!  Via APOD, of course...

The Dark Side of Saturn's Rings...

Taken by the intrepid Cassini robotic explorer.  Via APOD, of course:

Saturn's Hexagon...

Here's a nice discussion of the strange gaseous hexagon at the north pole of Saturn, as imaged by the awesome Cassini probe...

Saturn...

The Cassini team created this composite from over 60 images filtered from infrared, red, and violet ranges:

Saturn, Titan, and the Rings...

APOD presents this beautiful photo taken by the Cassini probe, still orbiting Saturn and studying the Saturnian system. 

Helene...

One of the Saturnian moons that's in a Lagrange point.  Imaged by Cassini, and brought to us by APOD, of course...

Can You Guess What This Is?

Here's a clue: it's via APOD...

Don't know?  They're the mysterious hexagonal clouds around the north pole of Saturn...

Four Moons...

The image at right shows four moons of Saturn in a single frame.  It was, of course, taken by the Cassini spacecraft, still collecting bucketloads of science data way out there in the frigid Saturnian system.  This image comes to us courtesy of APOD.  As always, click to enlarge...

A Quintet of Moons...

Cassini is still hard at work in the Saturnian system, returning scads of good science data every day.  The photo at right (click to enlarge, as always) was taken recently, and shows five moons of Saturn all in one shot.  From left to right: Janus, Pandora, Enceladus, Mimas, and half of Rhea.  Awesome!

Backlit Saturn...

I love this Cassini photo.  I'll spare y'all my rant about robotic explorers vs. manned space flight.  Just enjoy this!

Via APOD, of course.  And click to enlarge.

Helene...

Helene is one of the Trojan moons of Saturn.  The Cassini robotic explorer recently captured this image of it (as always, click to enlarge).  APOD has it in the form of a 3-D (anaglyph) image. 

Seven years into its mission, Cassini is still going strong – a wonderful example of what NASA could be doing instead of wasting money on purposeless manned space flight...

Cassini Mission...

A nice video summary of one of my favorite robotic space explorers:

CASSINI MISSION from Chris Abbas on Vimeo.

Storm on Saturn...

Photo by the intrepid robotic explorer Cassini, which is still collecting science every day as it whips around in the Saturnian system.  APOD featured this photo today...

Cassini Visits Rhea...

Cassini is still traipsing about the Saturnian system, producing vast quantities of quality science.  As it gets nearer to the end of its mission (in particular, as it runs out of fuel), the mission planners are sending it on ever more risky endeavours.  Most especially they are sending it closer and closer to Saturn's satellites (this is risky because the gravitational field of these satellites attracts more space junk that could kill Cassini, and because some of these satellites even emit dangerous materials).

Just in time for the holidays, Cassini snapped this closeup of little Rhea, looking a bit like a Christmas tree ornament...

Enceladus, Even Closer...

The image at right (click to enlarge), of Saturn's moon Enceladus, was taken a few days ago by Cassini on its closest approach yet (to within just 48 km).

If you've been following the fascinating discoveries Cassini has been making about Enceladus, then you know that this moon is one of the most fascinating and surprising objects in our solar system.  The jets visible so clearly in this photo are primarily composed of water – and the simple existence of that water is perhaps the most surprising finding of all the many surprises from Enceladus.

Cassini has now been making steady, amazing contributions to science for over five years.  It's still going strong, though getting closer and closer to its end of life.  The scientists are directing it now to missions that would have been deemed too risky earlier in its mission, such as this very close pass to Enceladus.

More Cassinis, please, NASA.

Wrinkly Moon...

Cassini, the robot explorer that has been orbiting Saturn now since December 2004, is still going strong.  It's most recent accomplishment was a close flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus.  On this flyby it was looking closely at the “tiger stripes” where jets of water are erupting from the surface.  In the raw photo at right, you can see the “wrinkles” on Enceladus' icy surface.

The annual cost of the Cassini mission (which has done real science in orbit around Saturn for nearly six years) is less than the cost of the ammonia pumps on the ISS (which does absolutely nothing for science except suck money into a black hole).

Just sayin'...