2015 July 8

In the Company of Dione
* Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
http://www.nasa.gov/
http://www.spacescience.org/index.php

Explanation:
That is not our Moon. It's Dione, and it's a moon of Saturn. The robotic Cassini spacecraft took the featured image during a flyby of Saturn's cratered Moon last month. Perhaps what makes this image so interesting, though, is the background. First, the large orb looming behind Dione is Saturn itself, faintly lit by sunlight first reflected from the rings. Next, the thin lines running diagonally across the image are the rings of Saturn themselves. The millions of icy rocks that compose Saturn's spectacular rings all orbit Saturn in the same plane, and so appear surprisingly thin when seen nearly edge-on. Front and center, Dione appears in crescent phase, partially lit by the Sun that is off to the lower left. A careful inspection of the ring plane should also locate the moon Enceladus on the upper right.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150708.html

#space #moon #Dione #saturn #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA

2015 August 24

Dione, Rings, Shadows, Saturn
* Credit : Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA
http://ciclops.org/
http://www.spacescience.org/
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://www.esa.int/
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Explanation:
What's happening in this strange juxtaposition of moon and planet? First and foremost, Saturn's moon Dione was captured here in a dramatic panorama by the robotic Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting the giant planet. The bright and cratered moon itself spans about 1100-km, with the large multi-ringed crater Evander visible on the lower right. Since the rings of Saturn are seen here nearly edge-on, they are directly visible only as a thin horizontal line that passes behind Dione. Arcing across the bottom of the image, however, are shadows of Saturn's rings, showing some of the rich texture that could not be seen directly. In the background, few cloud features are visible on Saturn. The featured image was taken during the last planned flyby of Dione by Cassini, as the spacecraft is scheduled to dive into Saturn's atmosphere during 2017.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150824.html

#space #moon #Dione #Saturn #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA

2005 October 21

Ringside
* Credit : Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA
http://ciclops.org/
http://www.spacescience.org/
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://www.esa.int/
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

Explanation:
Orbiting in the plane of Saturn's rings, Dione and the other icy saturnian moons have a perpetual ringside view of the gorgeous gas giant planet. Of course, while passing through the ring plane the Cassini spacecraft also shares their stunning perspective. The rings themselves can be seen slicing across the bottom of this Cassini snapshot. Remarkably thin, the bright rings still cast arcing shadows across the planet's cloud tops. Pale Dione, in the foreground, is about 1,100 kilometers across and orbits over 300,000 kilometers from the visible outer edge of the A ring.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051021.html

#space #moon #Dione #saturn #astrophotography #photography #science #astronomy #nature #NASA

In celestial mechanics, the #Lagrange points (also Lagrangian points, L-points, or libration points) are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the influence of two massive orbiting bodies - in this case #Saturn and larger moon #Dione.

https://knowledgezone.co.in/kbits/6280bf363dd9f810c475bbcb