by Ann » Sun Sep 21, 2014 5:40 am
Interesting. I appreciate seeing another picture of the rather unilluminated rings of Saturn.
When Voyager 1 reached Jupiter in 1979 and beamed back pictures, I was absolutely delighted. The closeups of Jupiter were stunning, of course, but the NASA people also generally enhanced the saturation of the colorful cloud tops of the planet to make them
look like a color freak's fantasy. Never mind that the dominant color was red (or rather orange), I was in seventh heaven. (Or as Mae West would have said, Too much of a good thing is just wonderful.)
So my expectations for the Voyager 1 pictures of Saturn were sky-high. Alas, they were not to be fulfilled. Some of the Saturn pictures were
so colorful that they looked totally artificial, while others were dull and drab.
And the rings were dark.
I have never quite gotten over my initial delight at the first Voyager Jupiter pictures and my disappointment at the Saturn ones. Now, of course, I have seen so many great pictures of Saturn that I have long ago gotten over my suspicion that Saturn only looks good from afar. But I still prefer Jupiter as a planet over Saturn as a planet, even though I think that Saturn's moons are a fantastically varied and fascinating lot.
I have also realized that Saturn's rings are often quite well lit and bright. But I know from that first Voyager 1 encounter with Saturn that the rings don't always look so shiny and bright. That's why I'm glad to see today's APOD, which gives a good explanation and a fine portrait of the darkness of the poorly lit rings.
Ann
Interesting. I appreciate seeing another picture of the rather unilluminated rings of Saturn.
When Voyager 1 reached Jupiter in 1979 and beamed back pictures, I was absolutely delighted. The closeups of Jupiter were stunning, of course, but the NASA people also generally enhanced the saturation of the colorful cloud tops of the planet to make them [url=http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01784/jupiter-voyager-2__1784885i.jpg]look like a color freak's fantasy[/url]. Never mind that the dominant color was red (or rather orange), I was in seventh heaven. (Or as Mae West would have said, Too much of a good thing is just wonderful.)
So my expectations for the Voyager 1 pictures of Saturn were sky-high. Alas, they were not to be fulfilled. Some of the Saturn pictures were [url=http://www.esa.int/esapub/bulletin/bullet92/images/b92kohf11.gif]so colorful that they looked totally artificial[/url], while others were dull and drab. [url=http://www.practicalspace.com/saturn/images/voyager-1-saturn-1.jpg]And the rings were dark.[/url]
I have never quite gotten over my initial delight at the first Voyager Jupiter pictures and my disappointment at the Saturn ones. Now, of course, I have seen so many great pictures of Saturn that I have long ago gotten over my suspicion that Saturn only looks good from afar. But I still prefer Jupiter as a planet over Saturn as a planet, even though I think that Saturn's moons are a fantastically varied and fascinating lot.
I have also realized that Saturn's rings are often quite well lit and bright. But I know from that first Voyager 1 encounter with Saturn that the rings don't always look so shiny and bright. That's why I'm glad to see today's APOD, which gives a good explanation and a fine portrait of the darkness of the poorly lit rings.
Ann