Space and Physics
PUBLISHED
There’s no place like home. Even when home is just a dot over a billion kilometers away. This evocative picture of our planet, not more than a fuzzy splotch between Saturn's rings, shows us just how incredibly vast the universe is.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.This latest picture was shot as Cassini was flying around the ringed gas giant, 1.4 billion kilometers (870 million miles) away from Earth. Although there is not enough resolution to tell just by the photo, the southern Atlantic is facing Saturn in this image.
The Earth and the Moon are both visible in the large gap between the A ring (top) and the F ring (bottom). The Keeler and Encke gaps are also visible within the A ring.
Cassini is a cooperative mission of NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Italian Space Agency. In its 13 years of operation, it has revolutionized our understanding of Saturn and its moons, leading to the momentous discovery of an ocean on Enceladus that could be suitable for life.
The probe is about to take its curtain call. When September comes, it will take a swan dive into the gas giant, which means we won’t be seeing close ups of the Saturnine system for the near future.
Moon and Earth between Saturn's rings. ESA/NASA/ASI
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