Universe Today - 10 May 2010
Saturn's rings, made dark in part as the planet casts its shadow across them,
cut a striking figure before Saturn's largest moon, Titan. (NASA/JPL/SSI)
CICLOPS: PIA 12629: Cut by Saturn's Shadow
There's nothing up the Cassini imaging team's sleeves in this image; it is real! Is the moon Titan being cut in half by Saturn's rings? What's happening here is that the middle part of the rings are made dark as Saturn casts its shadow across them. Cassini was just in the right place at the right time, making it appear as though Titan is being sliced in half by the rings! The night side of the planet is to the left, out of the frame of the image. Illuminated Titan can be seen above, below and through gaps in the rings. Click the image for a larger version.
As an added benefit in this shot, Mimas (396 kilometers, 246 miles across) is near the bottom of the image, and Atlas (30 kilometers, 19 miles across) can barely be detected near the thin F ring just above the center right of the image. Lit terrain seen here is the area between the leading hemisphere and Saturn-facing side of Titan (5,150 kilometers, 3,200 miles across). This view looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from just above the ringplane.
Below are a few more magical images from Cassini:
Enceladus and a wispy ring (NASA/JPL/SSI)
Pandora and Epimetheus sit on Saturn's rings. (NASA/JPL/SSI)