Prometheus

Similar to many of the small, inner moons of Saturn, Prometheus points its long axis at Saturn as if giving us directions to the planet.

Prometheus (53 miles or 86 kilometers across), like most small moons, is not spherical. Astronomers think that the shapes of these moons hold clues to their origins and evolutions.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 37 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on September 10, 2013.

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 621,000 miles (1 million kilometers) from Prometheus and at a Sun-Prometheus-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 34 degrees. Image scale is 4 miles (6 kilometers) per pixel.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Saturn's Rings - Opposition Surge

Although it may look to our eyes like other images of the rings, this infrared image of Saturn's rings was taken with a special filter that will only admit light polarized in one direction. Scientists can use these images to learn more about the nature of the particles that make up Saturn's rings.

The bright spot in the rings is the "opposition surge" where the Sun-Ring-Spacecraft angle passes through zero degrees. Ring scientists can also use the size and magnitude of this bright spot to learn more about the surface properties of the ring particles. To learn more about the surge, see PIA08247.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 19 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on August 18, 2013 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 705 nanometers.

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 712,000 miles (1.1 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-rings-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 7 degrees. Image scale is 43 miles (68 kilometers) per pixel.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Titan

Titan's atmosphere puts on a display with the detached haze to the north (top of image) and the polar vortex to the south.

Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers across) is Saturn's largest moon. For a color image of the south polar vortex on Titan, see PIA14919. For a movie of the vortex, see PIA14920.

This view looks toward the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Titan. North on Titan is up and rotated 24 degrees to the left. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on August 20, 2013 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 889 nanometers.

The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) from Titan. Image scale is 9 miles (15 kilometers) per pixel.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Janus

Cassini's narrow angle camera captures Saturn's tiny irregular moon Janus surrounded by the vast, dark expanse of the outer solar system.

Janus (111 miles, or 179 kilometers across) shares an orbit with the moon Epimetheus; the two moons change orbital positions roughly every four years.

This view looks toward the Saturn-facing side of Janus. North on Janus is up and rotated 38 degrees to the left. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on September 10, 2013.

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 621,000 miles (1 million kilometers) from Janus. Raw image scale is 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) per pixel. This image has been zoomed in by a factor of two to enhance the visibility of Janus.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Saturn's North Polar Hurricane in Infrared

The vortex at Saturn's north pole -- seen here in the infrared -- takes on the menacing look of something from the imagination of Edgar Allan Poe. But really, of course, it's just another example of the amazing, mesmerizing meteorology on Saturn.

The eye of the immense cyclone is about 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) wide, 20 times larger than most on Earth. For another view of the vortex, see PIA14946.

This view is centered on clouds at 89 degrees north latitude, 109 degrees west longitude. North is up and rotated 33 degrees to the left. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 14, 2013 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 750 nanometers. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 476,000 miles (766,000 kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 45 degrees. Image scale is 3 miles (5 kilometers) per pixel.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Enceladus

Saturn's moon Enceladus, covered in snow and ice, resembles a perfectly packed snowball in this image from NASA's Cassini mission. Cassini has imaged Enceladus many times throughout its mission, discovering a fractured surface and the now-famous geysers that erupt icy particles and water vapor from fractures crossing the moons' 200-mile-wide (300-kilometer-wide) south polar terrain.

The mountain ridge seen in the south in this image is part of the undulating mountain belt that circumscribes this region.

See PIA11685 to learn more about the surface of Enceladus. See PIA11688 to learn about the jets of water ice emanating from the moon's south polar region.

This view looks toward the leading side of Enceladus (313 miles, 504 kilometers across). North on Enceladus is up and rotated 6 degrees to the left. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 10, 2012, using filters sensitive to ultraviolet, visible and infrared light (spanning wavelengths from 338 to 750 nanometers).

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 106,000 miles (170,000 kilometers) from Enceladus. Image scale is 3,336 feet (1 kilometer) per pixel.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Note: For more information, see Cassini Sees Saturn and Moons in Holiday Dress.

Enceladus

NASA's Cassini captures a still and partially sunlit Enceladus. The Saturnian moon is covered in ice that reflects sunlight similar to freshly fallen snow, making Enceladus one of the most reflective objects in the solar system. The blue color in this false-color image indicates larger-than-average ice particles. The moon's surface is decorated with fractures, folds and ridges caused by tectonic stresses. For more about the tectonics on Enceladus see PIA11686.

This view looks toward the side of Enceladus (313 miles or 504 kilometers across) that faces backward in the moon's orbit around Saturn. North on Enceladus is up. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on April 7, 2010, using filters sensitive to ultraviolet, visible and infrared light (spanning wavelengths from 338 to 750 nanometers).

The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 123,000 miles (198,000 kilometers) from Enceladus. Image scale is 3,889 feet (1 kilometer) per pixel.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Note: For more information, see Cassini Sees Saturn and Moons in Holiday Dress.