Picture of the day - July 8, 2005

Spectacular View Of The Planet Saturn

Photo courtesy of NASA.  Since its placement into earth orbit on April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has provided astronomers and the world with photos of numerous heavenly bodies that are simply astounding in their beauty and detail. Today's picture featuring the planet Saturn and its famous rings is a perfect example. This image, which shows Saturn's rings almost in their entirety, is one of the best ever taken of the planet. The two main sections of rings (called rings A and B) are clearly visible, as is the Cassini division (the blank space between them). Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system, which makes it easily visible from earth with the naked eye at various times during the year. The rings however are only visible with a telescope, but even the very best earth-bound telescopes are incapable of producing an image that even comes close to the quality of the ones produced by the Hubble!   Picture Of The Day Homepage | Submit a photo Interesting Articles