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PICTURES: Saturn image shows Earth from 870 million miles away

A new image released from NASA shows what Earth looks like from Saturn. Here’s a hint ...
Newstalk
Newstalk

14.38 21 Apr 2017


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PICTURES: Saturn image shows E...

PICTURES: Saturn image shows Earth from 870 million miles away

Newstalk
Newstalk

14.38 21 Apr 2017


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A new image released from NASA shows what Earth looks like from Saturn.

Here’s a hint – you can barely see it.

The photo from the Cassini spacecraft shows planet Earth as a point of light between Saturn’s icy rings.

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The spacecraft captured the view on April 12th, while it was 870 million miles - or 1.4 billion kilometres - away from Earth.

Although far too small to be visible in the image, the part of Earth facing Cassini at the time was the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Earth's moon is also visible nearby in a cropped, zoomed-in version of the image.

This cropped, zoomed-in version of the image makes it easier to see Earth's moon - a smaller, fainter dot to the left of our planet's bright dot | Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency.

Cassini, a sophisticated robotic spacecraft, was launched in October 1997.

It has since been orbiting the ringed planet and studying the Saturnian system in detail.

Cassini also carried a probe called Huygens, which parachuted to the surface of Saturn’s largest moon - Titan - in January 2005.

The Cassini spacecraft | Image: NASA

Cassini completed its initial four-year mission in June 2008, and the first extension - called the Cassini Equinox Mission - in September 2010.

Now, the spacecraft is making new discoveries in a second extension called the Cassini Solstice Mission.

One year on Saturn is equal to about 29 Earth years, while one day there would last for around 10.7 Earth hours.

But it is a cold planet, with an effective temperature of -177 Celsius.


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