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Sunday February 5th 2012

NightSky.ie Picture of the Week – Oct 31 2009

This week I have selected this image for two reasons. The first reason is because this is a natural colour image. Most images are augmented in some way, so this is what we would see if we were sitting there in the spacecraft. The second reason is that it is just so iconic. The rings cast a narrow shadow due to the equinox and the moon Mimas is just visible below the rings.

Saturn - Equinox in natural colour

Saturn - Equinox in natural colour - Click for hi-res image

 Mimas (396 kilometers, or 246 miles across) can be seen in the lower left. Mimas and the rings have been brightened relative to the planet to increase visibility.  One additional thing about Mimas is that it has an uncanny resemblance to a rather famous sci-fi movie.

Mimas/Deathstar?

Mimas/Deathstar?

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