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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Catching Saturn's Ring Waves
Title
Catching Saturn's Ring Waves
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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This false color image of two density waves in Saturn's A ring was made from the stellar occultation observed by Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph when the spacecraft was 6.3 million kilometers (4 million miles) from Saturn. Bright areas indicate the denser regions of the rings. The bright bands in the left part of the image are the "peaks" of a density wave caused by gravitational stirring of the rings by Saturn's moon, Janus. A smaller density wave in the right half of the image is produced by the moon Pandora. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph observed the brightness of the star Xi Ceti as the rings passed in front of it, and the flickering of the starlight was converted into the ring density depicted by the image. The image represents a distance of about 724 kilometers (450 miles), and the smallest features are about one-half mile across. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph was built at, and the team is based at the University of Colorado, Boulder. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team home page, http://lasp.colorado.edu/cassini.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
This false color image of two density waves in Saturn's A ring was made from the stellar occultation observed by Cassini's ultraviolet imaging spectrograph when the spacecraft was 6.3 million kilometers (4 million miles) from Saturn. Bright areas indicate the denser regions of the rings. The bright bands in the left part of the image are the "peaks" of a density wave caused by gravitational stirring of the rings by Saturn's moon, Janus. A smaller density wave in the right half of the image is produced by the moon Pandora. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph observed the brightness of the star Xi Ceti as the rings passed in front of it, and the flickering of the starlight was converted into the ring density depicted by the image. The image represents a distance of about 724 kilometers (450 miles), and the smallest features are about one-half mile across. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The ultraviolet imaging spectrograph was built at, and the team is based at the University of Colorado, Boulder. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph team home page, http://lasp.colorado.edu/cassini. Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/University of Colorado at Boulder
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/University of Colorado at Boulder
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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University of Colorado / Boulder
Produced_By
University of Colorado / Boulder
Produced By
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Mission:
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Cassini
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Spacecraft:
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Cassini Orbiter
Spacecraft
Cassini Orbiter
Spacecraft
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Target Name:
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S Rings
Target_Name
S Rings
Target Name
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Is a satellite of:
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Saturn
Is_a_satellite_of
Saturn
Is a satellite of
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Instrument:
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Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph
Instrument
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph
Instrument
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Product Size:
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802 samples x 601 lines
Product_Size
802 samples x 601 lines
Product Size
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Primary Data Set:
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Cassini
Primary_Data_Set
Cassini
Primary Data Set
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facet_what:
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Moon
facet_what
Moon
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Saturn
facet_what
Saturn
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cassini
facet_what
Cassini
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cassini Orbiter
facet_what
Cassini Orbiter
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Huygens Probe
facet_what
Huygens Probe
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cassini-Huygens
facet_what
Cassini-Huygens
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS)
facet_what
Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Saturn
facet_where
Saturn
facet_where
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facet_where:
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California
facet_where
California
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington
facet_where
Washington
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Colorado
facet_where
Colorado
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
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Image #:
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PIA06994
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA06994
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA06994
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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