Title
Nearly invisible ring around Saturn
Caption
This artist's conception shows a nearly invisible ring around Saturn -- the largest of the giant planet's many rings. It was discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The ring is so diffuse that it reflects little sunlight, or visible light that we see with our eyes. But its dusty particles shine with infrared light, or heat radiation, that Spitzer can see. The artist's conception simulates an infrared view of the giant ring. Saturn appears as just a small dot from outside the band of ice and dust. The bulk of the ring material starts about six million kilometres (3.7 million miles) away from the planet representation.
Date
20th century
Credit line
Photo12/Ann Ronan Picture Library
Reference
ARP15A02_071
License type
Rights managed
Available size
50,6Mb (1,3Mb) / 15,7in x 12,5in / 4700 x 3760 (300dpi)