New color image of Saturn presented by NASA
Without a proper understanding of this majestic cosmic perspective of our own home, all our finacial business, all our wars and conflicts, but also our science, including the Warsaw climate-change debate, are simply senseless, destructive activities.
Our Earth from the Saturnian point of view
NASA has released a natural color image of Saturn from space, the first in which Saturn, its moons and rings, and Earth, Venus and Mars, all are visible.The new panoramic mosaic of the majestic Saturn system taken by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which shows the view as it would be seen by human eyes, was unveiled at the Newseum in Washington today (on Tuesday, November 12, 2013).
Cassini does not attempt many images of Earth because the Sun is so close to our planet that an unobstructed view would damage the spacecraft’s sensitive detectors. Cassini team members looked for an opportunity when the Sun would slip behind Saturn from Cassini’s point of view. A good opportunity came on July 19, when Cassini was able to capture a picture of Earth and its moon, and this multi-image, backlit panorama of the Saturn system.
“In this one magnificent view, Cassini has delivered to us a universe of marvels: from spokes in Saturn’s main rings to the spray erupting from the icy moon Enceladus, from the shadows of moons cast through the gorgeous blue E ring to the inner planets Venus, Mars, and our own planet Earth, far in the distance,” said Carolyn Porco, Cassini’s imaging team lead based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “And it did so on a day people all over the world, in unison, smiled in celebration at the sheer joy of being alive on a pale blue dot. …But from the very start, the plans for the July 19 mosaic included something very special: If all went well, the images would capture a glimpse of Earth alongside Saturn and its rings at the very moment that people all over the globe would be contemplating their connectedness to each other and to all life on Earth, appreciating the rarity of our planet within the solar system, marveling at their own existence, and rejoicing at the very thought of having their picture taken from across the solar system.“
The presented picture is the first even taken natural-color image of Saturn, in which not only its moons and rings, but also Earth, Venus and Mars are visible. The Sun (hidden behind Saturn) and the whole Cosmic Hierarchy of our Solar System have to be imagined however, in addition to this view. Without a proper understanding of this majestic cosmic perspective of our own home, all our finacial business, all our wars and conflicts, but also our science, including the Warsaw climate-change debate, are simply senseless, destructive activities.