Coloring the Ice: Scientist Compiles First-Ever Global Color Maps of Saturn's Icy Moons From Cassini Data

By Leonidas Papadopoulos, on December 17th, 2014

A high-resolution color global map of Saturn’s moon Mimas, based on imaging data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. A set of new global maps of Saturn’s largest icy moons reveal the latters’ landscapes in unprecedented detail. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/LPI

The first 50 years of planetary exploration have seen the successful completion of humanity’s epic, […]

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NASA's Cassini Spacecraft Conducts Important Science During Several Flybys of Titan, Probes Its Enigmatic Seas

By Leonidas Papadopoulos, on June 25th, 2014

A view of the night side of Titan taken by the Cassini spacecraft, which captures the blue halo caused by a haze layer that hovers high in the moon’s atmosphere. The spacecraft conducted several flybys of the moon in recent months, during which it beamed a series of radio waves through its atmosphere, […]

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Cassini Image May Reveal Historic Birth of Icy Saturn Moon

By Emily Carney, on April 17th, 2014

From NASA/JPL: “The disturbance visible at the outer edge of Saturn’s A ring in this image from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft could be caused by an object replaying the birth process of icy moons.” Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The Cassini spacecraft, a flagship-class mission that is a cooperative project between NASA, the European […]

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Probing the Surfaces of Alien Waters: Cassini Reveals Possible Evidence of Waves on Seas of Titan

By Leonidas Papadopoulos, on March 21st, 2014

An image of Kivu Lacus, a small lake on Titan’s northern hemisphere, taken in infrared wavelengths in July 2012 with Cassini’s VIMS instrument from a distance of approximately 30,000 km. The bright spot indicates a specular reflection of sunlight from the surface of Kivu Lacus, which could result from the formation of waves. […]

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The Search for Alien Life Part 2: In the Realm of the Gas Giants

By David Darling, on January 11th, 2013

The trailing hemisphere of Jupiter’s moon Europa as imaged by Galileo. Photo Credit: NASA

Beyond the main asteroid belt lie the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn and their impressive retinues of moons. What chances for life are out here in the frozen wastes of the solar system? At first glance, you’d imagine none. […]

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Cassini Detects Changes in Titan’s Atmosphere

By Emma Sylvester Brown, on November 30th, 2012

This artist’s impression of Saturn’s moon, Titan, shows the change in observed atmospheric effects before, during, and after equinox in 2009. The Titan globes also provide an impression of the detached haze layer that extends all around the moon (blue). This image was inspired by data from NASA’s Cassini mission. Image Credit: ESA

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