Saturn

Description

Saturn is a gas giant planet with an extensive ring system that extends outwards for tens of thousands of kilometres from around 7000 kilometres above the planet’s equator. This close-up shows the shadow of the rings on the planet’s clouds, and the inner rings across top. The rings seen here are the C Ring (darker) and B Ring (brighter), with a combined width of around 45,000 kilometres. The rings shine by reflected sunlight, and are thought to be mostly water ice. This mosaic of images was obtained on 28 February 2009, by the wide-angle camera on the orbiting Cassini spacecraft. (Photo by Science Photo Library)