After 13 years of studying Saturn, the NASA Cassini apparatus said goodbye to the system, receiving the last mosaic image of the planet and the rings on a wide-angle camera 2 days before the final dive into the atmosphere
The NASA Cassini unit has been studying Saturn for a long 13 years. Before dying while being immersed in the atmosphere, the device managed to get the last large-scale look at the planet and the delightful ring system.
September 13, 2017 wide-angle camera mined 42 red, green and blue frames, covering the planet and the main ring in full size. The researchers combined the images to create a full color look. The image shows the satellites Prometheus, Janus, Pandora, Epimeteus, Enceladus and Mimas.
The Cassini missions have much to be proud of, because the researchers received a lot of new information: from fixing the smallest particles of the rings to finding new landscapes on Titan and Enceladus. The team planned to create a farewell view of the planetary system for many years. For some, the death of the device was a heavy loss. It’s too hard to accept the fact that you can no longer receive fresh Saturn pictures every day.
For other scientists, this is the second farewell. 37 long years, many could not forget the final view of Saturn from Voyager-1. The launch of Cassini took place in 1997. The device stayed near the planet from 2004-2017. The mission investigated in detail not only the planet itself, but also its lunar and ring systems. On September 15, 2017, the mission officially stopped when the device plunged into the atmosphere and stopped sending signals.
