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| Ultimi arrivi - Saturn: the "Ringed Beauty" and His Moons |
Enceladus_and_Titan-PIA14617-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgSo close, and yet so far... (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)94 visiteThe Saturnian moon Enceladus can be seen partially (as a matter of fact, we have to say almost completely) eclipsed by the shadow of its Gas-Giant Parent Planet, in this really fascinating view, taken by the the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft, which also features another Saturnian moon, such as Titan, in the distance. The Cassini Spacecraft flew by Enceladus, shown in the upper left of the picture, at a distance of about 16.000 miles (such as approx. 26.000 Km).
The Terminator - such as the Line separating the day from the night side - of Enceladus (whose dimension is approx. 313 miles, or about 504 Km across) can be barely seen on the very far left of the moon itself, while the shadow of Saturn runs all the way across from its Middle Northern, until the South Polar Regions. Titan (whose dimension is approx. 3200 miles, or about 5150 Km across), as we already mentioned hereabove, is well visible in the lower right of the frame, and, at the time that the picture was taken, it was about 684.000 miles (such as approx. 1,1 Million KiloMeters - MKM) away from the Spacecraft.
This view looks toward the Saturn-facing Sides of both Enceladus and Titan; North is up (obviously for both moons) and the image was taken in Visible Light, with the Cassini Spacecraft Wide-Angle Camera on October, 1st, 2011. The view was obtained at a Sun-Enceladus-CASSINI Spacecraft, or Phase, Angle of 29°. The Scale in the original image was approx. 2 miles (such as a little more than 3 Km) per pixel on Enceladus. The original image was also contrast enhanced and magnified by a factor of 1.5, so to enhance the visibility of a few Enceladian Surface Features (and in fact, if you look carefully, while Titan is - as usual, when observed from a great distance - completely featureless, a few Impact Craters and some Surface Striations, can actually be seen in the Northern Regions of the icy moon Enceladus).
This picture (which is an Original NASA - Cassini Spacecraft b/w frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 14617) has been additionally processed and then colorized, according to an informed speculation carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga (LXTT-IPF), in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Saturnian moons Enceladus and Titan), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among others, the existence of different Elements present on the Surface of Enceladus and in the Atmosphere of Titan, respectively, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumDic 04, 2012
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Saturn-North_Pole-Vortex-Cassini_1024-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgPeering into the Storm (Absolute Natural Colors - Credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)89 visiteThe NASA - Cassini Spacecraft has been traveling the Saturnian System in a set of inclined, or "tilted", orbits that are giving to the mission scientists a vertigo-inducing view of Saturn's Polar Regions. This perspective has yielded images of roiling Storm Clouds and a swirling Vortex at the center of Saturn's famed North Polar Hexagon. This phenomenon mimic what Cassini found at Saturn's South Pole a few years ago. The Spacecraft has also seen several Storms circling Saturn's North Pole in the past, but only in InfraRed Wavelengths, since the North Pole was in complete darkness. But now, with the change of the Saturnian Season, the Sun has finally begun to creep over the Gas-Giant Planet's North Pole, which has therefore become visible even in the Wavelenghts of Visible Light. This particular image was taken on November, 27, 2012, with Cassini's Narrow-Angle Camera. The Camera, at the time the picture was obtained, was pointing toward Saturn from approximately 224.618 miles (such as about 361.488 kilometers) away.
This picture (which is an Original NASA - Cassini Spacecraft b/w frame identified by the n. IMG004677-br500) has been additionally processed and then colorized, according to an informed speculation carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga (LXTT-IPF), in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the North Pole of Saturn), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among others, the existence of different Elements present in the Atmosphere of Saturn, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition. MareKromiumDic 04, 2012
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Enceladus-PIA14599-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgEnceladian Night (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)71 visiteBelow an almost completely darkened Enceladus, huge Plumes of Water Ice, coming from at least 4 (four) different Sulci (---> cracks of the Surface) located its South Polar Regions, are backlit in this view of one of Saturn's most dramatic moons. The lit Terrain seen here is on the Leading Hemisphere of Enceladus (whose diameter is approx. 313 miles - such as about 504 Km). North is up.
The picture was taken in Visible Light with the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft Narrow-Angle Camera, on February 20, 2012. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 83.000 miles (such as approx. 134.000 Kilometers) from Enceladus, and at a Sun-Enceladus-CASSINI Spacecraft (also known as "Phase"), Angle of 165°. Image scale is 2628 feet (801 meters) per pixel.
This picture (which is an Original NASA - CASSINI Spacecraft b/w frame published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 14599) has been additionally processed and then colorized, according to an informed speculation carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga (LXXT/IPF), in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - CASSINI Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Saturnian moon, Enceladus), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Enceladus, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumDic 04, 2012
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Phoebe-PIA06064-PCF-LXTT-IPF-1.jpgPhoebe (Absolute Natural Colors - Credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)74 visitePhoebe's possibole true nature is partly revealed in this image-mosaic of two frames taken during the NASA - CASSINI Spacecraft's Fly-By that occurred on June 11, 2004. The image shows evidence for the emerging view that Phoebe may be an ice-rich Celestial Body coated with a thin Layer of Dark Material (probably Dust). This phenomenon has been observed on other Icy Satellites, such as Ganymede, in the Jovian System: when an impactor slammed into the Surface of Phoebe, the collision excavated fresh, bright Material - probably Water Ice - underlying the Surface Layer of Dust and other rocky debris. A further evidence supporting this hypothesis can be seen on some Crater Walls where the darker Material appears to have slid downwards, so to expose more light-colored Material. However, some areas of the image that are particularly bright - especially near the lower right - are just over-exposed. Small bright Impact Craters visible in the picture are probably fairly young Surface Features.
In addition to that, a number of interesting circumstances seem to indicate that Phoebe may have originated in the Outer Solar System. In fact, Phoebe's highly irregular and Dark Surface, its retrograde orbit, the presence, on its Surface, of a huge variety of large and small Impact Craters and, last but not least, its extremely low Average Density, appear consistent with the hypothesis that Phoebe was once part of the Kuiper Belt, before being captured by Saturn's Gravity (which is, most likely, the same origin of quite a few Minor moons of the Gas-Giant Planets Uranus, Neptune, Saturn and Jupiter).
This spectacular view was obtained at a Phase, or Sun-Phoebe-Spacecraft, Angle of 84°, and from a distance of approximately 32.500 Km (such as aabout 20.200 miles). The image scale is approximately 190 meters (624 feet) per pixel.
These image-mosaic (which is made of two Original NASA - CASSINI Spacecraft b/w frames published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 06064) have been additionally processed and then colorized, according to an informed speculation carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga (LXXT/IPF), in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - CASSINI Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Saturnian Outer moon, Phoebe), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Phoebe, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumNov 03, 2012
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Dione-PIA14628-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgLarge Rayed Crater on Dione (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)89 visiteThe NASA - Cassini Spacecraft looks at an example of a Rayed Crater located on the Leading Hemisphere of the Saturnian moon Dione. The Rayed Crater is in the upper-left of the image and its Rays (made by Ejecta ---> such as by Rocky Material, belonging to Dione, that was lifted up and thrown away in every direction at the time of the Impact) show up as brighter material ("brighter" if compared to the Albedo of the Surface that surrounds it) which emanates from the Crater itself.
This view, as we said hereabove, looks toward the Leading Hemisphere of Dione (which is approx. 700 miles, such as about 1125 kilometers across). North on Dione is up and rotated 12 degrees to the left. The image was taken in Visible Light with the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft Narrow-Angle Camera on July 23, 2012. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 260.000 miles (such as about 418.000 kilometers) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-Spacecraft (or Phase) Angle of 5°. Image scale is about 2 miles (such as a little more than 3 kilometers) per pixel.
This frame (which is an Original NASA - Cassini Spacecraft image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 14628) has been additionally processed and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Saturnian moon Dione), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among others, the existence of different Elements present on the Surface of Dione, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumOtt 24, 2012
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The_Rings-PIA08306-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgThe beautiful and colorful Rings of Saturn (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation) 81 visiteThis is a spectacular view - obtained by the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft - that shows us the subtle golden and gray/whitish colors which characterize the Outer B-Ring, the Cassini Division and the inner part of the A-Ring of the Giant Gas-Planet Saturn. In this viewing geometry, the brightest feature in the Cassini Division is the (relatively) recently discovered diffuse Ringlet which lies near the Outer Edge of the Division (and this diffuse Ringlet shows a quite peculiar bluish cast). The colors of the Rings, as they look in this picture, appear more golden than ever because of the Viewing Geometry that was adopted: as a matter of fact, an increased scattering in the ice and rock particles forming the Rings was brought about not only by the high Phase Angle (such as the angle drawn and defined by the Sun, the Rings and the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft), but also by the circumstance that this view was obtained while the Spacecraft was watching towards the Unlit Side of the Rings, from about 30° above the Ring-Plane. The images used to create this frame were acquired by the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Sept. 29, 2006, at a distance of approx. 1,8 MKM (about 1,13 MMs) from the Rings of Saturn and the image scale is roughly 11 Km (such as about 7 miles) per pixel.
Remember that the NASA - CASSINI Original b/w frame has been additionally processed and then re-colorized, according to an informed speculation carried out by Dr Paolo C. Fienga (LXTT-IPF), in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Rings of Satun), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among others, the existence of different Elements in the Rings of Satun, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromiumSet 12, 2012
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Saturn-PIA09009-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgSaturnian Cloud Bands (Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)119 visiteCaption NASA:"The Cassini Spacecraft spies smooth, sometimes wavy, contours in the banded East-West flowing clouds of Saturn. This view shows clouds in Saturn's Northern Mid-Latitudes.
The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 727 nanometers. The view was obtained with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 8, 2007 at a distance of approx. 2,9 MKM (about 1,8 MMs) from Saturn.
Image scale is roughly 34 Km (about 21 miles) per pixel".
Un nuovo passo in avanti per la Colorizzazione Naturale Assoluta creata da Lunar Explorer Italia: ora, infatti, inizieremo la rivalutazione (in senso di analisi cromatica) dei frames CASSINI e, quindi, la ricolorizzazione di Saturno. Ecco il primo "nato" di questa nuova serie.MareKromiumSet 03, 2012
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Saturn-Lightning-PIA14921.jpgSaturnian Lightning73 visiteThese false-color mosaics from NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured a Lightning striking within the huge storm that encircled Saturn's Northern Hemisphere for much of the AD 2011. The larger mosaic on the left of the panel shows the Lightning Flash, which appears as a blueish dot. The smaller mosaic on the right is composed of images taken 30 minutes later, and the Lightning is (let's say OBVIOUSLY...) not flashing at that time.
The white arrow points to the location where the Lightning occurred in the Clouds. The Optical Energy of this and other Flashes on Saturn is comparable to the strongest of the flashes on Earth. The flash is approx. 120 miles (about 200 Km) long when it exits the Clouds Tops. From this, scientists deduced that the Lightning Bolts originated in the Clouds deeper down in Saturn's Atmosphere where Water Droplets freeze. This is the analogous Region of the Atmosphere where Lightnings are created on Earth.
This Lightning Flash appeared only in the filter sensitive to Blue Visible Light, and the images were enhanced to increase the visibility of the Lightning. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters are usually combined to create a Natural Color View. Since Visible Red-Light images were not available, images taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of Near-InfraRed Light centered at 752 nanometers were used in place of red. Also, the blue filter image was enhanced to increase the visibility of the lightning. The result is a type (as a matter of fact, just one of the VERY many...) of False Color Image.
The images were obtained with the Cassini Spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 6, 2011, at a distance of approximately 2 MMs (such as about 3,3 MKM) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-Spacecraft, or Phase, Angle of 83°. These mosaics are simple Cylindrical Map Projections, defined such that a square pixel subtends equal intervals of Latitude and Longitude. At higher Latitudes, the pixel size in the North-South direction remains the same, but the pixel size (in terms of physical extent on the Planet) in the East-West direction becomes smaller. The pixel size is set at the Equator, where the distances along the sides are equal. This map has a pixel size of approx. 12 miles (such as about 20 Km) at the Equator.MareKromiumAgo 16, 2012
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The_Rings-N00191888-N00191985-GB-LXTT-IPF.gifIn the Rings (a GIF-Movie by Dr Gianluigi Barca - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)102 visiteSince all the Beauties of the Universe in general - as well as many of the ones of our Solar System in particular - cannot always be adequately understood nor explained (and, please, forgive us if and when we say that those who state and declare that today's Science can really explain everything, in our opinion, as IPF, do not have the least idea of what they are talking about...), we have learned that, sometimes, and in front of certain phenomena which, as we just said, are not only impossible to recreate but (and for now), are also impossible to be observed from a REALLY close distance (thus making them extremely difficult to be fully understood and therefore explained in a satisfying way), it is Science itself that calls for some speculation.
This small foreword was absolutely necessary because the very few lines that shall follow (and which relate to the possible origin of Saturn's Rings) are, in our humble opinion, almost pure Scientific Speculation. Yes, of course we know that the hypothesis which we shall try to illustrate do represent an "informed Scientific Speculations", but still we have no actual proof (and, likely, we shall never have it) that even one of them is correct, either in full or just in part.
Given all that, we can start by saying that, according to several (either recent and/or less recent) Theories, the Rings of Saturn should be EXTREMELY old, meaning that they could be dating to the formation of Saturn (as well as of the whole Solar System) itself. Furthermore (and as a matter of fact), nowadays there are just 2 (two) Main Theories regarding the origin of Saturn's Rings which are thought to be sufficiently believable: the first one, originally proposed by the French Astronomer Édouard Robert Roche in the 19th Century, is that the Rings were once a moon of Saturn (named "Veritas", after a Roman Goddess) whose orbit, for (obviously...) unknown reasons, decayed (however, we suggest, as IPF and among many other possibilities, the occurrence of a powerful impact, that was strong enough to disrupt Veritas' orbit but NOT to disintegrate - at least, not entirely - the moon itself), until the moon came close enough to its Parent Planet so to be litterally ripped apart by the Saturnian Tidal Forces (in other words, and assuming that this Theory is basically correct, "Veritas" must have been some sort of a "Rubble-pile moon", such as a Celestial Body which was so fragile that it could not pass the so-called "Roche Limit" without being - almost - completely disintegrated). A variation of this first Main Theory (a variation that, however, we believe - as IPF - to be extremely unlikely) is that the "Veritas" moon simply disintegrated after being struck by a large Comet or an Asteroid.
The second Main Theory is that the Rings of Saturn were never part of a moon, but they are, instead, some physical leftovers of the original Proto-Planatary Nebula (i.e.: Nebular-like Material) from which Saturn itself was formed.MareKromiumLug 08, 2012
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The_Rings-N00191994-N00192059-GB-LXTT-IPF.gifIn the Rings (a GIF-Movie by Dr Gianluigi Barca - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)98 visiteThe densest Regions of the Saturnian Ring System consist of the A and B-Rings, which are separated by the so-called "Cassini Division" (which was discovered in the AD 1675 by the Italian Astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini). Along with the C-Ring, which was discovered 75 years later (such as in the AD 1850), these three Regions together form the Main Rings of the Giant Gas Planet Saturn.
The Main Rings are denser and contain larger Water Ice and Rocky Particles than the very tenuous so-called Dusty Rings, which include the D-Ring (extending inward, towards Saturn's Cloud Tops), the G and E-Rings, as well as other and even more tenuous (or also "diffuse") Rings and Ringlets (and, perhaps, even some Ring Arcs) which are all located beyond the three Main Rings (which can also be named as the "Main Ring System").
These "Diffuse Rings" are known as "dusty" because of the extremely small size of the Water Ice and Dust Particles which form them (and whose size can often be in the order of just one or two micrometers). Last, but not least, the narrow F-Ring - which rotates just off the Outer Edge of the A-Ring - is the most difficult one to be categorized, and that is because some parts of it are very dense, while others are extremely tenuous.
The brightness and purity of the Water Ice contained in the Rings has been often cited as evidence that they should (and could very well be) much younger than Saturn (some Scientists say - but this is, of course, just a speculation - that their age could be of approx. 100 Million Years only, since the infall of Meteoric Dust would have led to some very obvious darkening of the Rings themselves, if they had been older. However, a new research also indicates that the B-Ring may be massive enough to have diluted the infalling Meteoric Dust Material and thus avoided any substantial darkening of the entire Ring System. In addition to the above, the material forming the Rings may also be periodically recycled, as "Clumps" form within the Rings and then are disrupted by occasional Impacts. This last theory, if proven correct, could substantially explain the apparent youth of some of the Material existing within the whole Ring System.
The NASA - Cassini - UVIS Team, led by Dr Larry Esposito, used the so-called "Stellar Occultation Method" to discover something like 13 (thirteen) new Celestial Objects, ranging from approx. 27 metres to about 10 Km across, and all located within the F-Ring. These Objects appear to be translucent, thus suggesting that they could be temporary aggregates of Water Ice Boulders, each one of them being a few meters across. Dr Esposito believes that this could be the Basic (Mechanical) Structure that allows the formation and (somehow periodic) renewal of the entire Saturnian Ring System, such as Water Ice and Rocky Dust Particles first clumping together, and then being - as we suggested, maybe occasionally, maybe periodically - blasted apart.MareKromiumLug 08, 2012
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The_Rings-N00191724-N00191763-GB-LXTT-IPF.gifIn the Rings (a GIF-Movie by Dr Gianluigi Barca - Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)95 visiteOnce (actually, only a few decades ago...), we used to think that the Rings of the Gas-Giant Planet Saturn were something unique in the Universe. Now, after we have seen Rings and/or Ring-Arcs and Ringlets around each and every one of the other three Gas-Giant Planets Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, we do know that the Rings of Saturn are just the Most Extensive (---> i.e.: the Widest) Planetary Ring System in the Solar System. The Rings of Saturn - according to the majority of the Planetary Scientists - mostly consist of countless, small particles of Ice and Dust (ranging, in size, from micrometres to a few metres), which orbit around Saturn. As a matter of fact, the Ring Particles are made almost entirely of Water Ice, with some contamination from Dust and - maybe - other (minor) Elements.
As everybody should know, although reflection from the Rings increases the brightness of Saturn, the Rings themselves are not visible from Earth with unaided vision. In the AD 1610, however (such as one year after the Italian Astronomer Galileo Galilei first turned a telescope to the Sky), the Rings of Saturn appeared in all their beauty and Galileo Galilei became the very first person to observe them, even though he could not see them well enough to discern their true nature. Afterwards, in the AD 1655, the Dutch Mathematician and Astronomer Christiaan Huygens was the first one to describe them as a Disk made by (some kind of) Material surrounding (---> orbiting around) Saturn. Although many people still believe that the Rings of Saturn are made by a series of tiny Ringlets (a concept that goes back to Laplace), it is way more correct to think of them (like some NASA Scientists recently suggested) as an Annular Disk with concentric Local Maxima and Minima in both Density and Brightness. The Rings have numerous Gaps where the Particles' Density drops sharply: two of these Gaps opened because of the action of small (and known) really small moons which are actually "embedded" within them, while many others are located in specific places where the Tidal Forces exercized by (resonating) Saturnian moons create a phenomenon of Gravitational Destabilization of entire regions of the Rings themselves. Stabilizing resonances, on the other hand, can be considered responsible for the stability (and longevity) of several Rings (think about, for instance, to the Titanian Ringlet and the G-Ring). Well beyond the Main Rings, there is the so-called "Phoebe Ring", which is tilted at an angle of 27° as to the other Rings and, just like Phoebe, orbits in a Retrograde fashion.
Furthermore, and just out of Intellectual Curiosity, we wish to highlight that we believe, as IPF, after we examined (in extreme detail) several hundreds of close-up pictures of the Rings which were all obtained during the last Saturnian Equinox, that there should (and could well) be a few (relatively wide) Regions of the Rings themselves that are NOT made by Orbiting Ice and Dust Particles, but rather by orbiting "Pavings", such as by Aggregated Particles of Ring Material that, since they were positioned/located in specific regions within the Rings where they neither did nor do suffer any - or, maybe, just a negligible - Tidal Stress, in time joined together and formed something like "Floating Rocky Slates" (which means, in other words, the "flat" equivalent of a so-called "rubble-pile" Asteroid).MareKromiumLug 08, 2012
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Hyperion-PIA07740-PCF-LXTT-IPF.jpgFeatures of Hyperion (CTX and EDM Frames in Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)109 visiteThese beautiful Absolute Natural Color views of the Saturnian moon Hyperion reveal crisp details across the strange, tumbling moon's Surface. Differences in color represent differences in the composition of the Surface Materials; both views (CTX Frame and EDM) were obtained during the Cassini's close Fly-By that occurred on September, 26, 2005.
The images were taken by the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft's narrow-angle camera at a distance of approx. 62.000 Km (about 38.500 miles) from Hyperion and at a Sun-Hyperion-Cassini Angle (a.k.a. "Phase Angle") of 52°. The image scale is 362 mt (about 1200 feet) per pixel.
These two frames have been colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - Cassini Spacecraft and then looked outside, towards the Saturnian moon Hyperion), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically emproved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.MareKromiumGiu 23, 2012
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