NASA has released a snapshot of Saturn taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The image depicts the planet's famous rings and northern hemisphere, which is presently experiencing fall.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) sent into space in 2009, is charged with studying the moon and was over its so-called Lake of Spring when it took the shot.
NASA LRO Shares Stunning Photo of Saturn
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a picture of Saturn, which the space agency later made public.
The LRO, which primary mission is to research the moon, obtained the shot while flying 56 miles above Lacus Veris, also known as the moon's Lake of Spring, according to Space.com.
Saturn (enlarged 4x) seen from the Moon. Maneuvers such as this require intense planning from the LRO mission operations team at the NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
"In this view, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) was looking down at the north face of the rings, and from this perspective the rings in front of Saturn appear below its equator," according to a statement posted on the NASA website.
The image acquired by the LRO shows the northern side of Saturn's well-known rings, which NASA described as being roughly 10 to 100 million years old and largely made up of water ice. The rings are likewise estimated to be 10 meters thick. The ringed world's year is approximately 29 Earth years long, with each season lasting more than seven Earth years.
The rings were imaged by the LRO's Narrow-Angle Cameras (NAC). The ones in the photo are estimated to have a diameter of roughly 270,000 kilometers.
The image also depicts the planet's northern hemisphere, which is presently experiencing autumn. According to the Space study, a year on Saturn is similar to 29 Earth years, and each season lasts seven Earth years.
Other Saturn Photos
Another shot of Saturn, acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope as part of a series of photographs of the solar system's outer planets, was released by NASA.
Every year, the Hubble Space Telescope obtains pictures of the outer planets. The drastic color variations occurring in Saturn's northern hemisphere are shown in this year's snapshot.
The image also provides a better perspective of the planet's southern hemisphere, presently experiencing winter.
The LRO, as previously stated, is a NASA spacecraft tasked with learning more about the moon. Because the LROC's cameras study the moon, NASA had to carefully adjust the spacecraft to capture such a magnificent image of Saturn.
NASA said the LRO "has captured a treasure mine of data with its seven powerful sensors, delivering a significant addition to our understanding of the Moon" since its launch on June 18, 2009.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is in charge of the LRO.
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