📷 Artist’s impression of Dragonfly soaring over the dunes of Saturn’s moon Titan. NASA has authorized the mission team to proceed on development toward a July 2028 launch date.
Unlike most major moons orbiting Saturn, Phoebe is very dark and reflects very little light. Its darkness and irregular, retrograde orbit suggest Phoebe is most likely a captured object that comes from the outer solar system. #astronomy#Science#Saturn
#PPOD: On June 25, NASA’s #JWST turned to famed ringed world #Saturn for its first near-infrared observations of the planet. The initial imagery from JWST's NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) is already fascinating researchers. Saturn itself appears extremely dark at this infrared wavelength observed by the telescope, as methane gas absorbs almost all of the sunlight falling on the atmosphere. However, the icy rings stay relatively bright. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI/Andrea Luck
#PPOD: This image shows the first flash of sunlight reflected off a hydrocarbon lake on Saturn's moon Titan. The glint off a mirror-like surface is known as a specular reflection. This kind of glint was detected by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) on NASA's Cassini spacecraft on July 8, 2009. It confirmed the presence of liquid in the moon's northern hemisphere. Credit: NASA/JPL/University Of Arizona/DLR
#PPOD: This near-infrared view of Saturn and the rings was taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in July 2017. Saturn is also showing ‘ringshine’, light reflected off the rings and onto the night side of the planet. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/CICLOPS/Kevin M. Gill
It's Friday, which means it's time for my retro game of the week. Most retro gamers will have played Ghosts 'N Goblins at some point... but you've probably never played it like this:
Prometheus acts as a shepherding moon, constraining the extent of the inner edge of Saturn's F Ring. Prometheus is extremely irregular and has visible craters — some up to 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter. #Saturn#astronomy#Science
Hyperion, the largest of Saturn's irregular, nonspherical moons, is probably a remnant of a larger moon that was destroyed by a major impact. Hyperion might be similar to a large rubble pile. #Saturn#astronomy#Science
#PPOD: Images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) show a water vapor plume jetting from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, extending out 40 times the size of the moon itself. The inset, an image from the Cassini orbiter, emphasizes how small Enceladus appears in the Webb image compared to the water plume. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, G. Villanueva (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center), A. Pagan (STScI)