🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 84 (from laksa138)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa084.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/14/science/cassini-saturn-images.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/14/science/cassini-saturn-images.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/09\/14\/science\/cassini-saturn-images.html","crawl_time":1774230853,"first_indexed_time":1505379849,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,nytimes!www,\/interactive\/2017\/09\/14\/science\/cassini-saturn-images.html s443","src_root_hash":"4566504020376537684","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"100 Images From Cassini’s Mission to Saturn - The New York Times","meta_descriptions":["NASA’s Cassini spacecraft burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere in September 2017, after 20 years in space."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Cassini Arrives at Saturn\nCassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, after a seven-year voyage. It was the first spacecraft to orbit the ringed planet.\nNorthern Winter\nLike Earth, Saturn has a tilted axis. Cassini arrived in the depths of northern winter, with Saturn’s rings tipped up and its north pole in darkness.\nA Hexagonal Storm\nCassini used infrared to view the\nhexagonal jet stream\nswirling around Saturn’s north pole, a six-sided vortex capped with a shimmering aurora.\nThe Light Returns\nAs spring approached and sunlight returned to Saturn’s north pole, Cassini studied the polar hexagon and the dark hurricane at its center.\nApproaching Spring\nEach season on Saturn lasts about seven Earth years. Cassini watched as Saturn’s rings slowly tipped downward, casting narrower and narrower shadows.\nSaturn’s Spring\nEquinox\nThe shadows grew narrower until the spring equinox, when Saturn’s rings and equator were flat to the sun.\nA Yearlong\nStorm\nThe change in seasons brought a huge storm that wrapped around Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Cassini detected lightning deep within the planet.\nTitan\nMission scientists were particularly interested in Titan, Saturn’s largest moon — a hazy ball larger than the planet Mercury.\nCassini’s cameras were able to pierce Titan’s smoggy nitrogen atmosphere, revealing sunlight glinting on frigid lakes of\nliquid methane\nand other hydrocarbons.\nA radar image of Ligeia Mare, a lake of liquid methane on Titan.\nParachuting to Titan\nCassini released the Huygens probe to parachute through Titan’s atmosphere. As it descended, the probe recorded rivers and deltas carved by methane rain.\nImages taken in four directions as the Huygens probe parachuted through Titan’s atmosphere.\nMoon Landing\nHuygens sent back the first images from the surface of an alien moon.\nGravity Assist\nCassini returned to Titan over 100 times, using the large moon’s gravity to gradually shift the spacecraft’s orbit around Saturn.\nTitan’s backlit atmosphere.\nTitan and Rhea, Saturn’s largest moons.\nEarth’s moon is larger than Rhea but smaller than Titan.\nAround the Rings\nCassini used Titan’s gravity to tour Saturn’s rings, climbing high above the ring plane and threading gaps between the rings.\nThe moonlet Atlas, only 19 miles across, follows the sharp edge of Saturn’s A ring.\nThe faint D ring, Saturn’s innermost ring.\nThe bright and narrow F ring.\nThe moon Epimetheus, barely visible at top center, casts a shadow across the A ring.\nThe dark Cassini Division separates Saturn’s A and B rings.\nA detailed view of the B ring.\nRainbows and Starlight\nCassini photographed the sun’s reflection and used background stars to measure the opacity of the rings.\nA rainbow effect from reflected sunlight.\nLight from the star Antares filters through the rings.\nSixty-Two Moons\nFor 13 years, Cassini joined the intricate dance of\nSaturn’s 62 moons\n.\nThe moons Rhea and Epimetheus.\nClockwise from top: Telesto, Prometheus, Titan and Dione.\nGlowing Titan and tiny Janus.\nRhea hovers above three distant moons.\nFrom left: Dione, Prometheus and Tethys.\nFrom left: Tethys, Enceladus and backlit Titan.\nEnceladus\nBut of all of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus was the most surprising.\nEnceladus on the ring plane.\nA Hidden Ocean\nThe icy crust of Enceladus encases an\nocean of water\n, dotted with\nhydrothermal vents\nand warmed by the stretching and squeezing of Saturn’s gravity.\nGeysers and Plumes\nCassini\ndiscovered geysers\nnear the south pole of Enceladus, where plumes of water shoot into space and fall back as bright snow.\nGeysers erupting during a Cassini flyby.\nInside the Plumes\nCassini flew through the plumes many times. The spacecraft’s instruments detected several\nmolecules associated with life\n, but were not designed to search for microbes.\nCould alien microbes be living inside Enceladus? It will take a future mission, and another spacecraft, to find the answer.\nSpray from Enceladus forms Saturn’s diffuse E ring.\nRhea\nRhea, Saturn’s second-largest moon, is nearly 1,000 miles wide and pocked with craters.\nIapetus\nLike Earth’s moon, Iapetus orbits with the same side facing its planet. The moon’s leading hemisphere sweeps its orbit clean of dark dust, giving Iapetus a two-toned appearance.\nDione\nCassini flew close by Dione four times, and it discovered evidence of another ocean of water under the moon’s wispy crust of ice.\nThe cratered moon Rhea hovers over distant Dione.\nWispy terrain on Dione.\nTethys\nTethys is mostly water ice, marked with a large crater on one side and a canyon running from pole to pole on the other.\nTethys appears ghostly white in ultraviolet light.\nMimas\nMimas is one of the most battered moons in the solar system, bearing dents and dimples from ancient impacts.\nHyperion\nNot all of Saturn’s moons are round. Hyperion is pockmarked and irregular, and tumbles chaotically in its orbit around the planet.\nA Shared Orbit\nThe moons Janus and Epimetheus share the same orbit, slipping past each other every four years in an endless relay race.\nEpimetheus\nJanus\nSpiral Waves\nWhen Janus and Epimetheus trade places, gravity forms a crest in Saturn’s B ring. Over decades, the crests form a\nspiral wave\n, a grooved record of past moon crossings.\nWaves in Saturn’s B ring caused by the moon Janus.\nBright Spokes\nCassini studied the mysterious bright spokes, first seen by the\nVoyager spacecraft\n, that appear under the raking light of Saturn’s spring equinox.\nFaint spokes crossed by the long shadows of Janus and Mimas.\nBudding Moonlets\nThe spring light also helped Cassini find small clumps and moonlets casting shadows over the rings.\nA tiny moonlet embedded in dense rings.\nClearing a Gap\nThe flattened moonlet Pan clears a path inside the rings, while Daphnis leaves a rippled wake where it passes.\nPan\nPan circling within the Encke Gap in Saturn’s A ring.\nDaphnis, the “wavemaker” moon.\nShepherd Moons\nThe moons Prometheus and Pandora straddle the narrow F ring, a thin band that is kinked and braided by the inner moon’s gravity.\nPrometheus and Pandora.\nKinks and twists in the F ring.\nPrometheus carves a new ripple in the F ring.\nOverlapping Planes\nSome of Cassini’s most striking images were abstract — concentric rings with underlapping shadows.\nBanded Saturn\nMoons and rings cast crisp shadows across Saturn’s clouds.\nFlattened at the Poles\nWhen Cassini was level with the rings, Saturn’s oblate shape became clear. The planet is wider than it is tall.\nCrescent Saturn with flattened pole.\nBacklit by the Sun\nSome of Cassini’s orbits took it behind Saturn, into hours of darkness.\nOther Worlds Between the Rings\nThe spacecraft looked out toward the planet Uranus, a blue speck in the distance.\nAnd Cassini turned back to find Earth through a gap in Saturn’s rings.\nLast Images\nCassini took its\nfinal set of images\non Thursday. The sequence included a brief glimpse of the moon Enceladus as it slipped behind Saturn.\nDive\nAfter 22 passes\ninside the rings\n, Cassini plowed into Saturn’s rippled clouds on Friday. The spacecraft incinerated itself to prevent any future contamination of the moons Enceladus or Titan.\nBurning Into Saturn","attrs_markdown":"NYTimes.com no longer supports Internet Explorer 9 or earlier. Please upgrade your browser. [LEARN MORE »](http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/content\/help\/site\/ie9-support.html)\n\nSections\n\nHome\n\nSearch\n\n## [The New York Times ![The New York Times](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/vi-assets\/static-assets\/nyt5\/decom-userinfo\/images\/foundation\/logos\/nyt-logo-163x30.png)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n### [Science](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/science)\n###### [Science](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/science)  \\|100 Images From Cassini’s Mission to Saturn\n- [Share]()\n- [Tweet]()\n- [Email]()\n- [Share]()\n- [Save]()\n\nClose search\n\n## Site Search Navigation\n\n<https:\/\/nyti.ms\/2eXmsYI>\n\n## Site Navigation\n- [Home Page](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n- [World](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/world)\n- [U.S.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/us)\n- [Politics](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/politics)\n- [N.Y.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/nyregion)\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/business)\n- [Business](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/business)\n- [Opinion](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/opinion)\n- [Opinion](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/opinion)\n- [Tech](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/technology)\n- [Science](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/science)\n- [Health](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/health)\n- [Sports](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/sports)\n- [Sports](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/sports)\n\n- [Arts](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/arts)\n- [Arts](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/arts)\n- [Books](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/books)\n- [Style](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/style)\n- [Style](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/style)\n- [Food](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/food)\n- [Food](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/food)\n- [Travel](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/travel)\n- [Magazine](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/magazine)\n- [T Magazine](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/t-magazine)\n- [Real Estate](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/realestate)\n- [Obituaries](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/obituaries)\n- [Video](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video)\n- [The Upshot](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/upshot)\n- [Reader Center](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/reader-center)\n- [Conferences]()\n\n- [Crossword](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/crosswords)\n- [Times Insider](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/reader-center)\n- [Newsletters](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/newsletters)\n- [The Learning Network](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/learning)\n\n- [Multimedia](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/multimedia)\n- [Photography](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/lens)\n- [Podcasts](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/spotlight\/podcasts)\n\n- [NYT Store](https:\/\/store.nytimes.com\/?action=click&contentCollection=NYT%20Store&contentPlacement=2&module=SectionsNav&pgtype=Homepage&region=TopBar&t=qry542&utm_campaign=NYT-HP&utm_content=hp_browsetree&utm_medium=HPB&utm_source=nytimes&version=BrowseTree)\n- [NYT Wine Club](http:\/\/www.nytwineclub.com\/)\n- [nytEducation](http:\/\/nytedu.com\/)\n- [Times Journeys](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/times-journeys\/?utm_source=nytimes&utm_medium=HPLink&utm_content=hp_browsetree&utm_campaign=NYT-HP&module=SectionsNav&action=click&region=TopBar&version=BrowseTree&contentCollection=Times%20Journeys&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=Homepage)\n- [Meal Kits](https:\/\/www.chefd.com\/pages\/new-york-times-cooking-meal-plan?utm_campaign=web1_20160617&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=nyt)\n\n- [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/seeallnav)\n- [Manage Account](https:\/\/account.nytimes.com\/)\n- [Today's Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper)\n- [Tools & Services](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/marketing\/tools-and-services\/)\n- [Jobs](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/jobs)\n- [Classifieds](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/ref\/classifieds\/)\n- [Corrections](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/corrections)\n\n- [More]()\n## Site Mobile Navigation\n# 100 Images From Cassini’s Mission to Saturn\nBy JONATHAN CORUM  UPDATED September 15, 2017\n\nNASA’s [Cassini](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/14\/science\/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html) spacecraft burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere on Friday, after 20 years in space.\n\n## Cassini Arrives at Saturn\nCassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, after a seven-year voyage. It was the first spacecraft to orbit the ringed planet.\n\n![approach-PIA04913.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/approach-PIA04913-320.jpg)\n\n## Northern Winter\nLike Earth, Saturn has a tilted axis. Cassini arrived in the depths of northern winter, with Saturn’s rings tipped up and its north pole in darkness.\n\n![shadows-PIA07676.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA07676-320.jpg)\n\n## A Hexagonal Storm\nCassini used infrared to view the [hexagonal jet stream](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/08\/06\/science\/space\/storm-chasing-on-saturn.html) swirling around Saturn’s north pole, a six-sided vortex capped with a shimmering aurora.\n\n![aurora-PIA11396.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/aurora-PIA11396-320.jpg)\n\n## The Light Returns\nAs spring approached and sunlight returned to Saturn’s north pole, Cassini studied the polar hexagon and the dark hurricane at its center.\n\n![northpole-PIA17175.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/northpole-PIA17175-320.jpg)\n\n## Approaching Spring\nEach season on Saturn lasts about seven Earth years. Cassini watched as Saturn’s rings slowly tipped downward, casting narrower and narrower shadows.\n\n![shadows-PIA12708.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA12708-320.jpg)\n\n## Saturn’s Spring **Equinox**\nThe shadows grew narrower until the spring equinox, when Saturn’s rings and equator were flat to the sun.\n\n![equinox-PIA11667.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/equinox-PIA11667-320.jpg)\n\n## A Yearlong **Storm**\nThe change in seasons brought a huge storm that wrapped around Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Cassini detected lightning deep within the planet.\n\n![storm-PIA12826.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/storm-PIA12826-320.jpg)\n\n## Titan\nMission scientists were particularly interested in Titan, Saturn’s largest moon — a hazy ball larger than the planet Mercury.\n\n![titan-PIA17179.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA17179-320.jpg)\n\nCassini’s cameras were able to pierce Titan’s smoggy nitrogen atmosphere, revealing sunlight glinting on frigid lakes of [liquid methane](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/08\/13\/science\/titan-flooded-canyons-saturn.html) and other hydrocarbons.\n\n![titan-PIA18432.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA18432-320.jpg)\n\n![titan-PIA17031.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA17031-320.jpg)\n\nA radar image of Ligeia Mare, a lake of liquid methane on Titan.\n## Parachuting to Titan\nCassini released the Huygens probe to parachute through Titan’s atmosphere. As it descended, the probe recorded rivers and deltas carved by methane rain.\n\n![huygens-PIA08119.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/huygens-PIA08119-320.jpg)\n\nImages taken in four directions as the Huygens probe parachuted through Titan’s atmosphere.\n## Moon Landing\nHuygens sent back the first images from the surface of an alien moon.\n\n![huygens-PIA07232.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/huygens-PIA07232-320.jpg)\n\n## Gravity Assist\nCassini returned to Titan over 100 times, using the large moon’s gravity to gradually shift the spacecraft’s orbit around Saturn.\n\n![titan-PIA14924.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA14924-320.jpg)\n\nTitan’s backlit atmosphere.\n\n![moons-PIA17174.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA17174-320.jpg)\n\nTitan and Rhea, Saturn’s largest moons.  \nEarth’s moon is larger than Rhea but smaller than Titan.\n## Around the Rings\nCassini used Titan’s gravity to tour Saturn’s rings, climbing high above the ring plane and threading gaps between the rings.\n\n![atlas-PIA08941.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/atlas-PIA08941-320.jpg)\n\nThe moonlet Atlas, only 19 miles across, follows the sharp edge of Saturn’s A ring.\n\n![rings-PIA08253.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA08253-320.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA08304.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA08304-320.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA07568.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA07568-320.jpg)\n\nThe faint D ring, Saturn’s innermost ring.\n\n![rings-PIA11612.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA11612-320.jpg)\n\nThe bright and narrow F ring.\n\n![epimetheus-PIA12518.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/epimetheus-PIA12518-320.jpg)\n\nThe moon Epimetheus, barely visible at top center, casts a shadow across the A ring.\n\n![rings-PIA08306.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA08306-320.jpg)\n\nThe dark Cassini Division separates Saturn’s A and B rings.\n\n![rings-PIA21628.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA21628-320.jpg)\n\nA detailed view of the B ring.\n## Rainbows and Starlight\nCassini photographed the sun’s reflection and used background stars to measure the opacity of the rings.\n\n![rainbow-PIA08393.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rainbow-PIA08393-320.jpg)\n\nA rainbow effect from reflected sunlight.\n\n![star-PIA09829.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/star-PIA09829-320.jpg)\n\nLight from the star Antares filters through the rings.\n## Sixty-Two Moons\nFor 13 years, Cassini joined the intricate dance of [Saturn’s 62 moons](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2015\/12\/18\/science\/space\/nasa-cassini-maps-saturns-moons.html).\n\n![rhea-PIA12638.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rhea-PIA12638-320.jpg)\n\nThe moons Rhea and Epimetheus.\n\n![moons-PIA07644.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA07644-320.jpg)\n\nClockwise from top: Telesto, Prometheus, Titan and Dione.\n\n![titan-PIA08211.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA08211-320.jpg)\n\nGlowing Titan and tiny Janus.\n\n![moons-PIA12767.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA12767-320.jpg)\n\nRhea hovers above three distant moons.  \nFrom left: Dione, Prometheus and Tethys.\n\n![moons-PIA08216.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA08216-320.jpg)\n\nFrom left: Tethys, Enceladus and backlit Titan.\n## Enceladus\nBut of all of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus was the most surprising.\n\n![saturn-PIA08166.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/saturn-PIA08166-320.jpg)\n\nEnceladus on the ring plane.\n\n![enceladus-PIA18347.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA18347-320.jpg)\n\n## A Hidden Ocean\nThe icy crust of Enceladus encases an [ocean of water](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/04\/science\/space\/a-moon-of-saturn-has-a-sea-scientists-say.html), dotted with [hydrothermal vents](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/13\/science\/saturn-cassini-moon-enceladus.html) and warmed by the stretching and squeezing of Saturn’s gravity.\n\n![enceladus-PIA11133.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA11133-320.jpg)\n\n## Geysers and Plumes\nCassini [discovered geysers](http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/03\/10\/science\/space\/10saturn.html) near the south pole of Enceladus, where plumes of water shoot into space and fall back as bright snow.\n\n![enceladus-PIA08337.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA08337-320.jpg)\n\n![anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a\/anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif)\n\nGeysers erupting during a Cassini flyby.\n\n![enceladus-PIA14599.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA14599-320.jpg)\n\n## Inside the Plumes\nCassini flew through the plumes many times. The spacecraft’s instruments detected several [molecules associated with life](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/10\/29\/science\/space\/in-icy-breath-of-saturns-moon-enceladus-cassini-hunts-for-life.html), but were not designed to search for microbes.\n\n![enceladus-PIA17184.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA17184-320.jpg)\n\nCould alien microbes be living inside Enceladus? It will take a future mission, and another spacecraft, to find the answer.\n\n![enceladus-PIA08321.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA08321-320.jpg)\n\nSpray from Enceladus forms Saturn’s diffuse E ring.\n## Rhea\nRhea, Saturn’s second-largest moon, is nearly 1,000 miles wide and pocked with craters.\n\n![rhea-PIA12696.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rhea-PIA12696-320.jpg)\n\n![rhea-PIA19057.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rhea-PIA19057-320.jpg)\n\n## Iapetus\nLike Earth’s moon, Iapetus orbits with the same side facing its planet. The moon’s leading hemisphere sweeps its orbit clean of dark dust, giving Iapetus a two-toned appearance.\n\n![iapetus-PIA06168.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/iapetus-PIA06168-320.jpg)\n\n![iapetus-PIA08384.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/iapetus-PIA08384-320.jpg)\n\n## Dione\nCassini flew close by Dione four times, and it discovered evidence of another ocean of water under the moon’s wispy crust of ice.\n\n![dione-PIA07771.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/dione-PIA07771-320.jpg)\n\n![moons-PIA12755.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA12755-320.jpg)\n\nThe cratered moon Rhea hovers over distant Dione.\n\n![dione-PIA08256.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/dione-PIA08256-320.jpg)\n\nWispy terrain on Dione.\n## Tethys\nTethys is mostly water ice, marked with a large crater on one side and a canyon running from pole to pole on the other.\n\n![tethys-PIA18355.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/tethys-PIA18355-320.jpg)\n\n![tethys-PIA11624.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/tethys-PIA11624-320.jpg)\n\nTethys appears ghostly white in ultraviolet light.\n## Mimas\nMimas is one of the most battered moons in the solar system, bearing dents and dimples from ancient impacts.\n\n![mimas-PIA06176.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/mimas-PIA06176-320.jpg)\n\n![mimas-PIA06412.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/mimas-PIA06412-320.jpg)\n\n## Hyperion\nNot all of Saturn’s moons are round. Hyperion is pockmarked and irregular, and tumbles chaotically in its orbit around the planet.\n\n![hyperion-PIA07739.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/hyperion-PIA07739-320.jpg)\n\n![hyperion-PIA07740.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/hyperion-PIA07740-320.jpg)\n\n## A Shared Orbit\nThe moons Janus and Epimetheus share the same orbit, slipping past each other every four years in an endless relay race.\n\n![epimetheus-PIA20482.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/epimetheus-PIA20482-320.jpg)\n\nEpimetheus\n\n![janus-PIA18299.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/janus-PIA18299-320.jpg)\n\nJanus\n## Spiral Waves\nWhen Janus and Epimetheus trade places, gravity forms a crest in Saturn’s B ring. Over decades, the crests form a [spiral wave](http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2004\/07\/06\/science\/decoding-the-dance-of-saturn-s-rings.html), a grooved record of past moon crossings.\n\n![ringwave-PIA21627.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/ringwave-PIA21627-320.jpg)\n\nWaves in Saturn’s B ring caused by the moon Janus.\n## Bright Spokes\nCassini studied the mysterious bright spokes, first seen by the [Voyager spacecraft](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/science\/100000005343497\/forty-years-of-voyager.html), that appear under the raking light of Saturn’s spring equinox.\n\n![spokes-PIA11639.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/spokes-PIA11639-320.jpg)\n\n![spokes-PIA11452.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/spokes-PIA11452-320.jpg)\n\n![spokes-PIA11618.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/spokes-PIA11618-320.jpg)\n\nFaint spokes crossed by the long shadows of Janus and Mimas.\n## Budding Moonlets\nThe spring light also helped Cassini find small clumps and moonlets casting shadows over the rings.\n\n![rings-PIA11665.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA11665-320.jpg)\n\nA tiny moonlet embedded in dense rings.\n## Clearing a Gap\nThe flattened moonlet Pan clears a path inside the rings, while Daphnis leaves a rippled wake where it passes.\n\n![pan-PIA21436.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/pan-PIA21436-320.jpg)\n\nPan\n\n![pan-PIA08857.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/pan-PIA08857-320.jpg)\n\nPan circling within the Encke Gap in Saturn’s A ring.\n\n![daphnis-PIA17212.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/daphnis-PIA17212-320.jpg)\n\nDaphnis, the “wavemaker” moon.\n## Shepherd Moons\nThe moons Prometheus and Pandora straddle the narrow F ring, a thin band that is kinked and braided by the inner moon’s gravity.\n\n![shepherd-PIA11621.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shepherd-PIA11621-320.jpg)\n\nPrometheus and Pandora.\n\n![shepherd-PIA14653.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shepherd-PIA14653-320.jpg)\n\nKinks and twists in the F ring.\n\n![prometheus-PIA10593.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/prometheus-PIA10593-320.jpg)\n\nPrometheus carves a new ripple in the F ring.\n## Overlapping Planes\nSome of Cassini’s most striking images were abstract — concentric rings with underlapping shadows.\n\n![rings-PIA11493.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA11493-320.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA07515.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA07515-320.jpg)\n\n![mimas-PIA06142.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/mimas-PIA06142-320.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA18303.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA18303-320.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA18367.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA18367-320.jpg)\n\n## Banded Saturn\nMoons and rings cast crisp shadows across Saturn’s clouds.\n\n![saturn-PIA08414.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/saturn-PIA08414-320.jpg)\n\n![shadows-PIA07772.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA07772-320.jpg)\n\n![shadows-PIA08832.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA08832-320.jpg)\n\n![shadows-PIA14627.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA14627-320.jpg)\n\n## Flattened at the Poles\nWhen Cassini was level with the rings, Saturn’s oblate shape became clear. The planet is wider than it is tall.\n\n![shadows-PIA06606.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA06606-320.jpg)\n\n![saturn-PIA08242.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/saturn-PIA08242-320.jpg)\n\nCrescent Saturn with flattened pole.\n## Backlit by the Sun\nSome of Cassini’s orbits took it behind Saturn, into hours of darkness.\n\n![occultation-PIA14934.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/occultation-PIA14934-320.jpg)\n\n![occultation-PIA08329\\_fig2.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/occultation-PIA08329_fig2-320.jpg)\n\n![occultation-PIA17172.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/occultation-PIA17172-320.jpg)\n\n## Other Worlds Between the Rings\nThe spacecraft looked out toward the planet Uranus, a blue speck in the distance.\n\n![uranus-PIA17178.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/uranus-PIA17178-320.jpg)\n\nAnd Cassini turned back to find Earth through a gap in Saturn’s rings.\n\n![earth-PIA21445.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/earth-PIA21445-320.jpg)\n\n## Last Images\nCassini took its [final set of images](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/14\/science\/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html) on Thursday. The sequence included a brief glimpse of the moon Enceladus as it slipped behind Saturn.\n\n![anim-enceladus-setting.gif](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a\/anim-enceladus-setting.gif)\n\n## Dive\nAfter 22 passes [inside the rings](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/04\/21\/science\/space\/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html), Cassini plowed into Saturn’s rippled clouds on Friday. The spacecraft incinerated itself to prevent any future contamination of the moons Enceladus or Titan.\n\n![final-PIA21345.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/final-PIA21345-320.jpg)\n\n## Burning Into Saturn\nA short video about the [end of the Cassini mission](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/08\/science\/cassini-saturn-nasa.html).\n\nskip ad\n\nImages from NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute and the University of Arizona\n\n##\n- [![Cassini Flies Toward a Fiery Death on Saturn](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/09\/08\/science\/12SCI-CASSINI-finale\/12SCI-CASSINI-finale-mediumThreeByTwo225.jpg) Cassini Flies Toward a Fiery Death on Saturn April 30, 2025](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/08\/science\/cassini-saturn-nasa.html)\n- [![Cassini Moves Inside Saturn’s Rings](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/04\/21\/science\/space\/cassini-inside-saturns-rings-1492637817402\/cassini-inside-saturns-rings-1492637817402-mediumThreeByTwo225-v3.png) Cassini Moves Inside Saturn’s Rings June 5, 2017](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/04\/21\/science\/space\/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html)\n- [![Mapping Saturn’s Moons](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2015\/12\/16\/science\/space\/cassini-maps-saturns-moons-1450214890386\/cassini-maps-saturns-moons-1450214890386-mediumThreeByTwo225.png) Mapping Saturn’s Moons Aug. 12, 2016](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2015\/12\/18\/science\/space\/nasa-cassini-maps-saturns-moons.html)\n- [![Cassini’s Images From Inside Saturn’s Rings](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/04\/27\/science\/space\/cassini-close-saturn-flyby-1493312128230\/cassini-close-saturn-flyby-1493312128230-mediumThreeByTwo225-v3.jpg) Cassini’s Images From Inside Saturn’s Rings May 12, 2017](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/science\/cassini-saturn-rings.html)\n- [![Out There](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2015\/01\/13\/science\/space\/out-there-1421170453779\/out-there-1421170453779-mediumThreeByTwo225.png) Out There Dec. 18, 2019](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2015\/science\/space\/out-there.html)\n- [![Cassini Crashes Into Saturn, Its Mission Celebrated and Mourned](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2017\/09\/15\/science\/15cassini-beforeplunge\/15cassini-beforeplunge-mediumThreeByTwo225.png) Cassini Crashes Into Saturn, Its Mission Celebrated and Mourned April 30, 2025](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/14\/science\/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html)\n\nAdvertisement\n\nClose this overlay\n\n##\nGo to previous\n\nGo to next\n\nLoading...\n\n## Site Information Navigation\n- [© 2026The New York Times Company](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014792127-Copyright-notice)\n- [Home](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n- [Search](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/search\/)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015385887-Contact-Us)\n- [Work with us](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/careers\/)\n- [Advertise](https:\/\/nytmediakit.com\/)\n- [Your Ad Choices](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/privacy\/cookie-policy#how-do-i-manage-trackers)\n- [Privacy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/privacy\/privacy-policy)\n- [Terms of Service](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893428-Terms-of-service)\n- [Terms of Sale](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893968-Terms-of-sale)\n\n## Site Information Navigation\n- [Site Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/sitemap\/)\n- [Help](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us)\n- [Site Feedback](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015385887-Contact-Us?redir=myacc)\n- [Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=37WXW)\n\n###\n##### Edition\n- [U.S.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/)\n- [International](http:\/\/global.nytimes.com\/)\n- [中文 (Chinese)](http:\/\/cn.nytimes.com\/)\n- [Español](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/es\/)\n\n##### Help\n- [FAQ](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/content\/help\/front.html)\n- [Contact Us](http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/help\/index.html)\n\n##### Type Size\n- [A Type size small]()\n- [A Type size medium]()\n- [A Type size large]()\n\nClose this modal window\n\n### Log in\n#### To save articles or get newsletters, alerts or recommendations – all free.\n\nLog in with Facebook\n\nLog in with Google\n\nOR\n\nDon’t have an account? 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Blow](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/charles-m-blow)\n- [Jamelle Bouie](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/jamelle-bouie)\n- [David Brooks](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/david-brooks)\n- [Frank Bruni](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/frank-bruni)\n- [Roger Cohen](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/roger-cohen)\n- [Gail Collins](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/gail-collins)\n- [Ross Douthat](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/ross-douthat)\n- [Maureen Dowd](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/maureen-dowd)\n- [Thomas L. Friedman](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/thomas-l-friedman)\n- [Michelle Goldberg](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/michelle-goldberg)\n- [Nicholas Kristof](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/nicholas-kristof)\n- [Paul Krugman](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/paul-krugman)\n- [David Leonhardt](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/david-leonhardt)\n- [Farhad Manjoo](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/farhad-manjoo)\n- [Jennifer Senior](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/jennifer-senior)\n- [Bret Stephens](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/column\/bret-stephens)\n\nClose this modal window","attrs_readable_markdown":"Cassini Arrives at Saturn\n\nCassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, after a seven-year voyage. It was the first spacecraft to orbit the ringed planet.\n\n![approach-PIA04913.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/approach-PIA04913-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nNorthern Winter\n\nLike Earth, Saturn has a tilted axis. Cassini arrived in the depths of northern winter, with Saturn’s rings tipped up and its north pole in darkness.\n\n![shadows-PIA07676.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA07676-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA Hexagonal Storm\n\nCassini used infrared to view the [hexagonal jet stream](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/08\/06\/science\/space\/storm-chasing-on-saturn.html) swirling around Saturn’s north pole, a six-sided vortex capped with a shimmering aurora.\n\n![aurora-PIA11396.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/aurora-PIA11396-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe Light Returns\n\nAs spring approached and sunlight returned to Saturn’s north pole, Cassini studied the polar hexagon and the dark hurricane at its center.\n\n![northpole-PIA17175.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/northpole-PIA17175-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nApproaching Spring\n\nEach season on Saturn lasts about seven Earth years. Cassini watched as Saturn’s rings slowly tipped downward, casting narrower and narrower shadows.\n\n![shadows-PIA12708.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA12708-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nSaturn’s Spring **Equinox**\n\nThe shadows grew narrower until the spring equinox, when Saturn’s rings and equator were flat to the sun.\n\n![equinox-PIA11667.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/equinox-PIA11667-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA Yearlong **Storm**\n\nThe change in seasons brought a huge storm that wrapped around Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Cassini detected lightning deep within the planet.\n\n![storm-PIA12826.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/storm-PIA12826-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nTitan\n\nMission scientists were particularly interested in Titan, Saturn’s largest moon — a hazy ball larger than the planet Mercury.\n\n![titan-PIA17179.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA17179-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nCassini’s cameras were able to pierce Titan’s smoggy nitrogen atmosphere, revealing sunlight glinting on frigid lakes of [liquid methane](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/08\/13\/science\/titan-flooded-canyons-saturn.html) and other hydrocarbons.\n\n![titan-PIA18432.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA18432-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![titan-PIA17031.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA17031-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA radar image of Ligeia Mare, a lake of liquid methane on Titan.\n\nParachuting to Titan\n\nCassini released the Huygens probe to parachute through Titan’s atmosphere. As it descended, the probe recorded rivers and deltas carved by methane rain.\n\n![huygens-PIA08119.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/huygens-PIA08119-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nImages taken in four directions as the Huygens probe parachuted through Titan’s atmosphere.\n\nMoon Landing\n\nHuygens sent back the first images from the surface of an alien moon.\n\n![huygens-PIA07232.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/huygens-PIA07232-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nGravity Assist\n\nCassini returned to Titan over 100 times, using the large moon’s gravity to gradually shift the spacecraft’s orbit around Saturn.\n\n![titan-PIA14924.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA14924-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nTitan’s backlit atmosphere.\n\n![moons-PIA17174.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA17174-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nTitan and Rhea, Saturn’s largest moons.  \nEarth’s moon is larger than Rhea but smaller than Titan.\n\nAround the Rings\n\nCassini used Titan’s gravity to tour Saturn’s rings, climbing high above the ring plane and threading gaps between the rings.\n\n![atlas-PIA08941.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/atlas-PIA08941-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe moonlet Atlas, only 19 miles across, follows the sharp edge of Saturn’s A ring.\n\n![rings-PIA08253.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA08253-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA08304.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA08304-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA07568.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA07568-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe faint D ring, Saturn’s innermost ring.\n\n![rings-PIA11612.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA11612-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe bright and narrow F ring.\n\n![epimetheus-PIA12518.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/epimetheus-PIA12518-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe moon Epimetheus, barely visible at top center, casts a shadow across the A ring.\n\n![rings-PIA08306.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA08306-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe dark Cassini Division separates Saturn’s A and B rings.\n\n![rings-PIA21628.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA21628-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA detailed view of the B ring.\n\nRainbows and Starlight\n\nCassini photographed the sun’s reflection and used background stars to measure the opacity of the rings.\n\n![rainbow-PIA08393.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rainbow-PIA08393-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA rainbow effect from reflected sunlight.\n\n![star-PIA09829.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/star-PIA09829-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nLight from the star Antares filters through the rings.\n\nSixty-Two Moons\n\nFor 13 years, Cassini joined the intricate dance of [Saturn’s 62 moons](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2015\/12\/18\/science\/space\/nasa-cassini-maps-saturns-moons.html).\n\n![rhea-PIA12638.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rhea-PIA12638-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe moons Rhea and Epimetheus.\n\n![moons-PIA07644.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA07644-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nClockwise from top: Telesto, Prometheus, Titan and Dione.\n\n![titan-PIA08211.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/titan-PIA08211-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nGlowing Titan and tiny Janus.\n\n![moons-PIA12767.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA12767-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nRhea hovers above three distant moons.  \nFrom left: Dione, Prometheus and Tethys.\n\n![moons-PIA08216.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA08216-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nFrom left: Tethys, Enceladus and backlit Titan.\n\nEnceladus\n\nBut of all of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus was the most surprising.\n\n![saturn-PIA08166.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/saturn-PIA08166-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nEnceladus on the ring plane.\n\n![enceladus-PIA18347.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA18347-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA Hidden Ocean\n\nThe icy crust of Enceladus encases an [ocean of water](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/04\/04\/science\/space\/a-moon-of-saturn-has-a-sea-scientists-say.html), dotted with [hydrothermal vents](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/13\/science\/saturn-cassini-moon-enceladus.html) and warmed by the stretching and squeezing of Saturn’s gravity.\n\n![enceladus-PIA11133.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA11133-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nGeysers and Plumes\n\nCassini [discovered geysers](http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2006\/03\/10\/science\/space\/10saturn.html) near the south pole of Enceladus, where plumes of water shoot into space and fall back as bright snow.\n\n![enceladus-PIA08337.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA08337-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a\/anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif)\n\nGeysers erupting during a Cassini flyby.\n\n![enceladus-PIA14599.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA14599-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nInside the Plumes\n\nCassini flew through the plumes many times. The spacecraft’s instruments detected several [molecules associated with life](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/10\/29\/science\/space\/in-icy-breath-of-saturns-moon-enceladus-cassini-hunts-for-life.html), but were not designed to search for microbes.\n\n![enceladus-PIA17184.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA17184-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nCould alien microbes be living inside Enceladus? It will take a future mission, and another spacecraft, to find the answer.\n\n![enceladus-PIA08321.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/enceladus-PIA08321-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nSpray from Enceladus forms Saturn’s diffuse E ring.\n\nRhea\n\nRhea, Saturn’s second-largest moon, is nearly 1,000 miles wide and pocked with craters.\n\n![rhea-PIA12696.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rhea-PIA12696-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![rhea-PIA19057.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rhea-PIA19057-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nIapetus\n\nLike Earth’s moon, Iapetus orbits with the same side facing its planet. The moon’s leading hemisphere sweeps its orbit clean of dark dust, giving Iapetus a two-toned appearance.\n\n![iapetus-PIA06168.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/iapetus-PIA06168-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![iapetus-PIA08384.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/iapetus-PIA08384-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nDione\n\nCassini flew close by Dione four times, and it discovered evidence of another ocean of water under the moon’s wispy crust of ice.\n\n![dione-PIA07771.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/dione-PIA07771-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![moons-PIA12755.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/moons-PIA12755-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nThe cratered moon Rhea hovers over distant Dione.\n\n![dione-PIA08256.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/dione-PIA08256-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nWispy terrain on Dione.\n\nTethys\n\nTethys is mostly water ice, marked with a large crater on one side and a canyon running from pole to pole on the other.\n\n![tethys-PIA18355.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/tethys-PIA18355-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![tethys-PIA11624.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/tethys-PIA11624-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nTethys appears ghostly white in ultraviolet light.\n\nMimas\n\nMimas is one of the most battered moons in the solar system, bearing dents and dimples from ancient impacts.\n\n![mimas-PIA06176.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/mimas-PIA06176-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![mimas-PIA06412.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/mimas-PIA06412-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nHyperion\n\nNot all of Saturn’s moons are round. Hyperion is pockmarked and irregular, and tumbles chaotically in its orbit around the planet.\n\n![hyperion-PIA07739.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/hyperion-PIA07739-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![hyperion-PIA07740.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/hyperion-PIA07740-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA Shared Orbit\n\nThe moons Janus and Epimetheus share the same orbit, slipping past each other every four years in an endless relay race.\n\n![epimetheus-PIA20482.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/epimetheus-PIA20482-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nEpimetheus\n\n![janus-PIA18299.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/janus-PIA18299-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nJanus\n\nSpiral Waves\n\nWhen Janus and Epimetheus trade places, gravity forms a crest in Saturn’s B ring. Over decades, the crests form a [spiral wave](http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2004\/07\/06\/science\/decoding-the-dance-of-saturn-s-rings.html), a grooved record of past moon crossings.\n\n![ringwave-PIA21627.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/ringwave-PIA21627-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nWaves in Saturn’s B ring caused by the moon Janus.\n\nBright Spokes\n\nCassini studied the mysterious bright spokes, first seen by the [Voyager spacecraft](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/video\/science\/100000005343497\/forty-years-of-voyager.html), that appear under the raking light of Saturn’s spring equinox.\n\n![spokes-PIA11639.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/spokes-PIA11639-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![spokes-PIA11452.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/spokes-PIA11452-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![spokes-PIA11618.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/spokes-PIA11618-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nFaint spokes crossed by the long shadows of Janus and Mimas.\n\nBudding Moonlets\n\nThe spring light also helped Cassini find small clumps and moonlets casting shadows over the rings.\n\n![rings-PIA11665.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA11665-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nA tiny moonlet embedded in dense rings.\n\nClearing a Gap\n\nThe flattened moonlet Pan clears a path inside the rings, while Daphnis leaves a rippled wake where it passes.\n\n![pan-PIA21436.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/pan-PIA21436-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nPan\n\n![pan-PIA08857.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/pan-PIA08857-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nPan circling within the Encke Gap in Saturn’s A ring.\n\n![daphnis-PIA17212.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/daphnis-PIA17212-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nDaphnis, the “wavemaker” moon.\n\nShepherd Moons\n\nThe moons Prometheus and Pandora straddle the narrow F ring, a thin band that is kinked and braided by the inner moon’s gravity.\n\n![shepherd-PIA11621.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shepherd-PIA11621-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nPrometheus and Pandora.\n\n![shepherd-PIA14653.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shepherd-PIA14653-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nKinks and twists in the F ring.\n\n![prometheus-PIA10593.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/prometheus-PIA10593-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nPrometheus carves a new ripple in the F ring.\n\nOverlapping Planes\n\nSome of Cassini’s most striking images were abstract — concentric rings with underlapping shadows.\n\n![rings-PIA11493.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA11493-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA07515.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA07515-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![mimas-PIA06142.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/mimas-PIA06142-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA18303.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA18303-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![rings-PIA18367.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/rings-PIA18367-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nBanded Saturn\n\nMoons and rings cast crisp shadows across Saturn’s clouds.\n\n![saturn-PIA08414.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/saturn-PIA08414-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![shadows-PIA07772.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA07772-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![shadows-PIA08832.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA08832-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![shadows-PIA14627.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA14627-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nFlattened at the Poles\n\nWhen Cassini was level with the rings, Saturn’s oblate shape became clear. The planet is wider than it is tall.\n\n![shadows-PIA06606.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/shadows-PIA06606-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![saturn-PIA08242.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/saturn-PIA08242-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nCrescent Saturn with flattened pole.\n\nBacklit by the Sun\n\nSome of Cassini’s orbits took it behind Saturn, into hours of darkness.\n\n![occultation-PIA14934.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/occultation-PIA14934-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![occultation-PIA08329\\_fig2.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/occultation-PIA08329_fig2-{{size}}.jpg)\n\n![occultation-PIA17172.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/occultation-PIA17172-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nOther Worlds Between the Rings\n\nThe spacecraft looked out toward the planet Uranus, a blue speck in the distance.\n\n![uranus-PIA17178.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/uranus-PIA17178-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nAnd Cassini turned back to find Earth through a gap in Saturn’s rings.\n\n![earth-PIA21445.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/earth-PIA21445-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nLast Images\n\nCassini took its [final set of images](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/14\/science\/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html) on Thursday. The sequence included a brief glimpse of the moon Enceladus as it slipped behind Saturn.\n\n![anim-enceladus-setting.gif](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a\/anim-enceladus-setting.gif)\n\nDive\n\nAfter 22 passes [inside the rings](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/04\/21\/science\/space\/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html), Cassini plowed into Saturn’s rippled clouds on Friday. The spacecraft incinerated itself to prevent any future contamination of the moons Enceladus or Titan.\n\n![final-PIA21345.jpg](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/newsgraphics\/2017\/09\/14\/cassini-saturn-images\/assets\/images\/final-PIA21345-{{size}}.jpg)\n\nBurning Into Saturn","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	Cassini Arrives at Saturn Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, after a seven-year voyage. It was the first spacecraft to orbit the ringed planet. Northern Winter Like Earth, Saturn has a tilted axis. Cassini arrived in the depths of northern winter, with Saturn’s rings tipped up and its north pole in darkness. A Hexagonal Storm Cassini used infrared to view the hexagonal jet stream swirling around Saturn’s north pole, a six-sided vortex capped with a shimmering aurora. The Light Returns As spring approached and sunlight returned to Saturn’s north pole, Cassini studied the polar hexagon and the dark hurricane at its center. Approaching Spring Each season on Saturn lasts about seven Earth years. Cassini watched as Saturn’s rings slowly tipped downward, casting narrower and narrower shadows. Saturn’s Spring Equinox The shadows grew narrower until the spring equinox, when Saturn’s rings and equator were flat to the sun. A Yearlong Storm The change in seasons brought a huge storm that wrapped around Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Cassini detected lightning deep within the planet. Titan Mission scientists were particularly interested in Titan, Saturn’s largest moon — a hazy ball larger than the planet Mercury. Cassini’s cameras were able to pierce Titan’s smoggy nitrogen atmosphere, revealing sunlight glinting on frigid lakes of liquid methane and other hydrocarbons. A radar image of Ligeia Mare, a lake of liquid methane on Titan. Parachuting to Titan Cassini released the Huygens probe to parachute through Titan’s atmosphere. As it descended, the probe recorded rivers and deltas carved by methane rain. Images taken in four directions as the Huygens probe parachuted through Titan’s atmosphere. Moon Landing Huygens sent back the first images from the surface of an alien moon. Gravity Assist Cassini returned to Titan over 100 times, using the large moon’s gravity to gradually shift the spacecraft’s orbit around Saturn. Titan’s backlit atmosphere. Titan and Rhea, Saturn’s largest moons. Earth’s moon is larger than Rhea but smaller than Titan. Around the Rings Cassini used Titan’s gravity to tour Saturn’s rings, climbing high above the ring plane and threading gaps between the rings. The moonlet Atlas, only 19 miles across, follows the sharp edge of Saturn’s A ring. The faint D ring, Saturn’s innermost ring. The bright and narrow F ring. The moon Epimetheus, barely visible at top center, casts a shadow across the A ring. The dark Cassini Division separates Saturn’s A and B rings. A detailed view of the B ring. Rainbows and Starlight Cassini photographed the sun’s reflection and used background stars to measure the opacity of the rings. A rainbow effect from reflected sunlight. Light from the star Antares filters through the rings. Sixty-Two Moons For 13 years, Cassini joined the intricate dance of Saturn’s 62 moons . The moons Rhea and Epimetheus. Clockwise from top: Telesto, Prometheus, Titan and Dione. Glowing Titan and tiny Janus. Rhea hovers above three distant moons. From left: Dione, Prometheus and Tethys. From left: Tethys, Enceladus and backlit Titan. Enceladus But of all of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus was the most surprising. Enceladus on the ring plane. A Hidden Ocean The icy crust of Enceladus encases an ocean of water , dotted with hydrothermal vents and warmed by the stretching and squeezing of Saturn’s gravity. Geysers and Plumes Cassini discovered geysers near the south pole of Enceladus, where plumes of water shoot into space and fall back as bright snow. Geysers erupting during a Cassini flyby. Inside the Plumes Cassini flew through the plumes many times. The spacecraft’s instruments detected several molecules associated with life , but were not designed to search for microbes. Could alien microbes be living inside Enceladus? It will take a future mission, and another spacecraft, to find the answer. Spray from Enceladus forms Saturn’s diffuse E ring. Rhea Rhea, Saturn’s second-largest moon, is nearly 1,000 miles wide and pocked with craters. Iapetus Like Earth’s moon, Iapetus orbits with the same side facing its planet. The moon’s leading hemisphere sweeps its orbit clean of dark dust, giving Iapetus a two-toned appearance. Dione Cassini flew close by Dione four times, and it discovered evidence of another ocean of water under the moon’s wispy crust of ice. The cratered moon Rhea hovers over distant Dione. Wispy terrain on Dione. Tethys Tethys is mostly water ice, marked with a large crater on one side and a canyon running from pole to pole on the other. Tethys appears ghostly white in ultraviolet light. Mimas Mimas is one of the most battered moons in the solar system, bearing dents and dimples from ancient impacts. Hyperion Not all of Saturn’s moons are round. Hyperion is pockmarked and irregular, and tumbles chaotically in its orbit around the planet. A Shared Orbit The moons Janus and Epimetheus share the same orbit, slipping past each other every four years in an endless relay race. Epimetheus Janus Spiral Waves When Janus and Epimetheus trade places, gravity forms a crest in Saturn’s B ring. Over decades, the crests form a spiral wave , a grooved record of past moon crossings. Waves in Saturn’s B ring caused by the moon Janus. Bright Spokes Cassini studied the mysterious bright spokes, first seen by the Voyager spacecraft , that appear under the raking light of Saturn’s spring equinox. Faint spokes crossed by the long shadows of Janus and Mimas. Budding Moonlets The spring light also helped Cassini find small clumps and moonlets casting shadows over the rings. A tiny moonlet embedded in dense rings. Clearing a Gap The flattened moonlet Pan clears a path inside the rings, while Daphnis leaves a rippled wake where it passes. Pan Pan circling within the Encke Gap in Saturn’s A ring. Daphnis, the “wavemaker” moon. Shepherd Moons The moons Prometheus and Pandora straddle the narrow F ring, a thin band that is kinked and braided by the inner moon’s gravity. Prometheus and Pandora. Kinks and twists in the F ring. Prometheus carves a new ripple in the F ring. Overlapping Planes Some of Cassini’s most striking images were abstract — concentric rings with underlapping shadows. Banded Saturn Moons and rings cast crisp shadows across Saturn’s clouds. Flattened at the Poles When Cassini was level with the rings, Saturn’s oblate shape became clear. The planet is wider than it is tall. Crescent Saturn with flattened pole. Backlit by the Sun Some of Cassini’s orbits took it behind Saturn, into hours of darkness. Other Worlds Between the Rings The spacecraft looked out toward the planet Uranus, a blue speck in the distance. And Cassini turned back to find Earth through a gap in Saturn’s rings. Last Images Cassini took its final set of images on Thursday. The sequence included a brief glimpse of the moon Enceladus as it slipped behind Saturn. Dive After 22 passes inside the rings , Cassini plowed into Saturn’s rippled clouds on Friday. The spacecraft incinerated itself to prevent any future contamination of the moons Enceladus or Titan. Burning Into Saturn
Markdown	NYTimes.com no longer supports Internet Explorer 9 or earlier. Please upgrade your browser. [LEARN MORE »](http://www.nytimes.com/content/help/site/ie9-support.html) Sections Home Search ## [The New York Times ![The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/vi-assets/static-assets/nyt5/decom-userinfo/images/foundation/logos/nyt-logo-163x30.png)](https://www.nytimes.com/) ### [Science](https://www.nytimes.com/section/science) ###### [Science](https://www.nytimes.com/section/science) \\|100 Images From Cassini’s Mission to Saturn - [Share]() - [Tweet]() - [Email]() - [Share]() - [Save]() Close search ## Site Search Navigation <https://nyti.ms/2eXmsYI> ## Site Navigation - [Home Page](https://www.nytimes.com/) - [World](https://www.nytimes.com/section/world) - [U.S.](https://www.nytimes.com/section/us) - [Politics](https://www.nytimes.com/section/politics) - [N.Y.](https://www.nytimes.com/section/nyregion) - [Business](https://www.nytimes.com/section/business) - [Business](https://www.nytimes.com/section/business) - [Opinion](https://www.nytimes.com/section/opinion) - [Opinion](https://www.nytimes.com/section/opinion) - [Tech](https://www.nytimes.com/section/technology) - [Science](https://www.nytimes.com/section/science) - [Health](https://www.nytimes.com/section/health) - [Sports](https://www.nytimes.com/section/sports) - [Sports](https://www.nytimes.com/section/sports) - [Arts](https://www.nytimes.com/section/arts) - [Arts](https://www.nytimes.com/section/arts) - [Books](https://www.nytimes.com/section/books) - [Style](https://www.nytimes.com/section/style) - [Style](https://www.nytimes.com/section/style) - [Food](https://www.nytimes.com/section/food) - [Food](https://www.nytimes.com/section/food) - [Travel](https://www.nytimes.com/section/travel) - [Magazine](https://www.nytimes.com/section/magazine) - [T Magazine](https://www.nytimes.com/section/t-magazine) - [Real Estate](https://www.nytimes.com/section/realestate) - [Obituaries](https://www.nytimes.com/section/obituaries) - [Video](https://www.nytimes.com/video) - [The Upshot](https://www.nytimes.com/section/upshot) - [Reader Center](https://www.nytimes.com/section/reader-center) - [Conferences]() - [Crossword](https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords) - [Times Insider](https://www.nytimes.com/section/reader-center) - [Newsletters](https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters) - [The Learning Network](https://www.nytimes.com/section/learning) - [Multimedia](https://www.nytimes.com/section/multimedia) - [Photography](https://www.nytimes.com/section/lens) - [Podcasts](https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/podcasts) - [NYT Store](https://store.nytimes.com/?action=click&contentCollection=NYT%20Store&contentPlacement=2&module=SectionsNav&pgtype=Homepage&region=TopBar&t=qry542&utm_campaign=NYT-HP&utm_content=hp_browsetree&utm_medium=HPB&utm_source=nytimes&version=BrowseTree) - [NYT Wine Club](http://www.nytwineclub.com/) - [nytEducation](http://nytedu.com/) - [Times Journeys](https://www.nytimes.com/times-journeys/?utm_source=nytimes&utm_medium=HPLink&utm_content=hp_browsetree&utm_campaign=NYT-HP&module=SectionsNav&action=click&region=TopBar&version=BrowseTree&contentCollection=Times%20Journeys&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=Homepage) - [Meal Kits](https://www.chefd.com/pages/new-york-times-cooking-meal-plan?utm_campaign=web1_20160617&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=nyt) - [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/seeallnav) - [Manage Account](https://account.nytimes.com/) - [Today's Paper](https://www.nytimes.com/section/todayspaper) - [Tools & Services](https://www.nytimes.com/marketing/tools-and-services/) - [Jobs](https://www.nytimes.com/section/jobs) - [Classifieds](https://www.nytimes.com/ref/classifieds/) - [Corrections](https://www.nytimes.com/section/corrections) - [More]() ## Site Mobile Navigation # 100 Images From Cassini’s Mission to Saturn By JONATHAN CORUM UPDATED September 15, 2017 NASA’s [Cassini](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/science/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html) spacecraft burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere on Friday, after 20 years in space. ## Cassini Arrives at Saturn Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, after a seven-year voyage. It was the first spacecraft to orbit the ringed planet. ![approach-PIA04913.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/approach-PIA04913-320.jpg) ## Northern Winter Like Earth, Saturn has a tilted axis. Cassini arrived in the depths of northern winter, with Saturn’s rings tipped up and its north pole in darkness. ![shadows-PIA07676.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA07676-320.jpg) ## A Hexagonal Storm Cassini used infrared to view the [hexagonal jet stream](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/science/space/storm-chasing-on-saturn.html) swirling around Saturn’s north pole, a six-sided vortex capped with a shimmering aurora. ![aurora-PIA11396.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/aurora-PIA11396-320.jpg) ## The Light Returns As spring approached and sunlight returned to Saturn’s north pole, Cassini studied the polar hexagon and the dark hurricane at its center. ![northpole-PIA17175.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/northpole-PIA17175-320.jpg) ## Approaching Spring Each season on Saturn lasts about seven Earth years. Cassini watched as Saturn’s rings slowly tipped downward, casting narrower and narrower shadows. ![shadows-PIA12708.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA12708-320.jpg) ## Saturn’s Spring Equinox The shadows grew narrower until the spring equinox, when Saturn’s rings and equator were flat to the sun. ![equinox-PIA11667.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/equinox-PIA11667-320.jpg) ## A Yearlong Storm The change in seasons brought a huge storm that wrapped around Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Cassini detected lightning deep within the planet. ![storm-PIA12826.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/storm-PIA12826-320.jpg) ## Titan Mission scientists were particularly interested in Titan, Saturn’s largest moon — a hazy ball larger than the planet Mercury. ![titan-PIA17179.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA17179-320.jpg) Cassini’s cameras were able to pierce Titan’s smoggy nitrogen atmosphere, revealing sunlight glinting on frigid lakes of [liquid methane](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/13/science/titan-flooded-canyons-saturn.html) and other hydrocarbons. ![titan-PIA18432.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA18432-320.jpg) ![titan-PIA17031.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA17031-320.jpg) A radar image of Ligeia Mare, a lake of liquid methane on Titan. ## Parachuting to Titan Cassini released the Huygens probe to parachute through Titan’s atmosphere. As it descended, the probe recorded rivers and deltas carved by methane rain. ![huygens-PIA08119.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/huygens-PIA08119-320.jpg) Images taken in four directions as the Huygens probe parachuted through Titan’s atmosphere. ## Moon Landing Huygens sent back the first images from the surface of an alien moon. ![huygens-PIA07232.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/huygens-PIA07232-320.jpg) ## Gravity Assist Cassini returned to Titan over 100 times, using the large moon’s gravity to gradually shift the spacecraft’s orbit around Saturn. ![titan-PIA14924.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA14924-320.jpg) Titan’s backlit atmosphere. ![moons-PIA17174.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA17174-320.jpg) Titan and Rhea, Saturn’s largest moons. Earth’s moon is larger than Rhea but smaller than Titan. ## Around the Rings Cassini used Titan’s gravity to tour Saturn’s rings, climbing high above the ring plane and threading gaps between the rings. ![atlas-PIA08941.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/atlas-PIA08941-320.jpg) The moonlet Atlas, only 19 miles across, follows the sharp edge of Saturn’s A ring. ![rings-PIA08253.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA08253-320.jpg) ![rings-PIA08304.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA08304-320.jpg) ![rings-PIA07568.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA07568-320.jpg) The faint D ring, Saturn’s innermost ring. ![rings-PIA11612.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA11612-320.jpg) The bright and narrow F ring. ![epimetheus-PIA12518.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/epimetheus-PIA12518-320.jpg) The moon Epimetheus, barely visible at top center, casts a shadow across the A ring. ![rings-PIA08306.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA08306-320.jpg) The dark Cassini Division separates Saturn’s A and B rings. ![rings-PIA21628.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA21628-320.jpg) A detailed view of the B ring. ## Rainbows and Starlight Cassini photographed the sun’s reflection and used background stars to measure the opacity of the rings. ![rainbow-PIA08393.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rainbow-PIA08393-320.jpg) A rainbow effect from reflected sunlight. ![star-PIA09829.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/star-PIA09829-320.jpg) Light from the star Antares filters through the rings. ## Sixty-Two Moons For 13 years, Cassini joined the intricate dance of [Saturn’s 62 moons](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/18/science/space/nasa-cassini-maps-saturns-moons.html). ![rhea-PIA12638.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rhea-PIA12638-320.jpg) The moons Rhea and Epimetheus. ![moons-PIA07644.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA07644-320.jpg) Clockwise from top: Telesto, Prometheus, Titan and Dione. ![titan-PIA08211.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA08211-320.jpg) Glowing Titan and tiny Janus. ![moons-PIA12767.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA12767-320.jpg) Rhea hovers above three distant moons. From left: Dione, Prometheus and Tethys. ![moons-PIA08216.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA08216-320.jpg) From left: Tethys, Enceladus and backlit Titan. ## Enceladus But of all of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus was the most surprising. ![saturn-PIA08166.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/saturn-PIA08166-320.jpg) Enceladus on the ring plane. ![enceladus-PIA18347.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA18347-320.jpg) ## A Hidden Ocean The icy crust of Enceladus encases an [ocean of water](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/science/space/a-moon-of-saturn-has-a-sea-scientists-say.html), dotted with [hydrothermal vents](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/science/saturn-cassini-moon-enceladus.html) and warmed by the stretching and squeezing of Saturn’s gravity. ![enceladus-PIA11133.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA11133-320.jpg) ## Geysers and Plumes Cassini [discovered geysers](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/science/space/10saturn.html) near the south pole of Enceladus, where plumes of water shoot into space and fall back as bright snow. ![enceladus-PIA08337.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA08337-320.jpg) ![anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a/anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif) Geysers erupting during a Cassini flyby. ![enceladus-PIA14599.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA14599-320.jpg) ## Inside the Plumes Cassini flew through the plumes many times. The spacecraft’s instruments detected several [molecules associated with life](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/science/space/in-icy-breath-of-saturns-moon-enceladus-cassini-hunts-for-life.html), but were not designed to search for microbes. ![enceladus-PIA17184.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA17184-320.jpg) Could alien microbes be living inside Enceladus? It will take a future mission, and another spacecraft, to find the answer. ![enceladus-PIA08321.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA08321-320.jpg) Spray from Enceladus forms Saturn’s diffuse E ring. ## Rhea Rhea, Saturn’s second-largest moon, is nearly 1,000 miles wide and pocked with craters. ![rhea-PIA12696.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rhea-PIA12696-320.jpg) ![rhea-PIA19057.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rhea-PIA19057-320.jpg) ## Iapetus Like Earth’s moon, Iapetus orbits with the same side facing its planet. The moon’s leading hemisphere sweeps its orbit clean of dark dust, giving Iapetus a two-toned appearance. ![iapetus-PIA06168.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/iapetus-PIA06168-320.jpg) ![iapetus-PIA08384.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/iapetus-PIA08384-320.jpg) ## Dione Cassini flew close by Dione four times, and it discovered evidence of another ocean of water under the moon’s wispy crust of ice. ![dione-PIA07771.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/dione-PIA07771-320.jpg) ![moons-PIA12755.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA12755-320.jpg) The cratered moon Rhea hovers over distant Dione. ![dione-PIA08256.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/dione-PIA08256-320.jpg) Wispy terrain on Dione. ## Tethys Tethys is mostly water ice, marked with a large crater on one side and a canyon running from pole to pole on the other. ![tethys-PIA18355.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/tethys-PIA18355-320.jpg) ![tethys-PIA11624.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/tethys-PIA11624-320.jpg) Tethys appears ghostly white in ultraviolet light. ## Mimas Mimas is one of the most battered moons in the solar system, bearing dents and dimples from ancient impacts. ![mimas-PIA06176.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/mimas-PIA06176-320.jpg) ![mimas-PIA06412.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/mimas-PIA06412-320.jpg) ## Hyperion Not all of Saturn’s moons are round. Hyperion is pockmarked and irregular, and tumbles chaotically in its orbit around the planet. ![hyperion-PIA07739.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/hyperion-PIA07739-320.jpg) ![hyperion-PIA07740.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/hyperion-PIA07740-320.jpg) ## A Shared Orbit The moons Janus and Epimetheus share the same orbit, slipping past each other every four years in an endless relay race. ![epimetheus-PIA20482.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/epimetheus-PIA20482-320.jpg) Epimetheus ![janus-PIA18299.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/janus-PIA18299-320.jpg) Janus ## Spiral Waves When Janus and Epimetheus trade places, gravity forms a crest in Saturn’s B ring. Over decades, the crests form a [spiral wave](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/06/science/decoding-the-dance-of-saturn-s-rings.html), a grooved record of past moon crossings. ![ringwave-PIA21627.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/ringwave-PIA21627-320.jpg) Waves in Saturn’s B ring caused by the moon Janus. ## Bright Spokes Cassini studied the mysterious bright spokes, first seen by the [Voyager spacecraft](https://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000005343497/forty-years-of-voyager.html), that appear under the raking light of Saturn’s spring equinox. ![spokes-PIA11639.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/spokes-PIA11639-320.jpg) ![spokes-PIA11452.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/spokes-PIA11452-320.jpg) ![spokes-PIA11618.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/spokes-PIA11618-320.jpg) Faint spokes crossed by the long shadows of Janus and Mimas. ## Budding Moonlets The spring light also helped Cassini find small clumps and moonlets casting shadows over the rings. ![rings-PIA11665.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA11665-320.jpg) A tiny moonlet embedded in dense rings. ## Clearing a Gap The flattened moonlet Pan clears a path inside the rings, while Daphnis leaves a rippled wake where it passes. ![pan-PIA21436.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/pan-PIA21436-320.jpg) Pan ![pan-PIA08857.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/pan-PIA08857-320.jpg) Pan circling within the Encke Gap in Saturn’s A ring. ![daphnis-PIA17212.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/daphnis-PIA17212-320.jpg) Daphnis, the “wavemaker” moon. ## Shepherd Moons The moons Prometheus and Pandora straddle the narrow F ring, a thin band that is kinked and braided by the inner moon’s gravity. ![shepherd-PIA11621.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shepherd-PIA11621-320.jpg) Prometheus and Pandora. ![shepherd-PIA14653.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shepherd-PIA14653-320.jpg) Kinks and twists in the F ring. ![prometheus-PIA10593.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/prometheus-PIA10593-320.jpg) Prometheus carves a new ripple in the F ring. ## Overlapping Planes Some of Cassini’s most striking images were abstract — concentric rings with underlapping shadows. ![rings-PIA11493.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA11493-320.jpg) ![rings-PIA07515.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA07515-320.jpg) ![mimas-PIA06142.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/mimas-PIA06142-320.jpg) ![rings-PIA18303.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA18303-320.jpg) ![rings-PIA18367.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA18367-320.jpg) ## Banded Saturn Moons and rings cast crisp shadows across Saturn’s clouds. ![saturn-PIA08414.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/saturn-PIA08414-320.jpg) ![shadows-PIA07772.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA07772-320.jpg) ![shadows-PIA08832.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA08832-320.jpg) ![shadows-PIA14627.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA14627-320.jpg) ## Flattened at the Poles When Cassini was level with the rings, Saturn’s oblate shape became clear. The planet is wider than it is tall. ![shadows-PIA06606.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA06606-320.jpg) ![saturn-PIA08242.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/saturn-PIA08242-320.jpg) Crescent Saturn with flattened pole. ## Backlit by the Sun Some of Cassini’s orbits took it behind Saturn, into hours of darkness. ![occultation-PIA14934.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/occultation-PIA14934-320.jpg) ![occultation-PIA08329\_fig2.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/occultation-PIA08329_fig2-320.jpg) ![occultation-PIA17172.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/occultation-PIA17172-320.jpg) ## Other Worlds Between the Rings The spacecraft looked out toward the planet Uranus, a blue speck in the distance. ![uranus-PIA17178.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/uranus-PIA17178-320.jpg) And Cassini turned back to find Earth through a gap in Saturn’s rings. ![earth-PIA21445.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/earth-PIA21445-320.jpg) ## Last Images Cassini took its [final set of images](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/science/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html) on Thursday. The sequence included a brief glimpse of the moon Enceladus as it slipped behind Saturn. ![anim-enceladus-setting.gif](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a/anim-enceladus-setting.gif) ## Dive After 22 passes [inside the rings](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/21/science/space/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html), Cassini plowed into Saturn’s rippled clouds on Friday. The spacecraft incinerated itself to prevent any future contamination of the moons Enceladus or Titan. ![final-PIA21345.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/final-PIA21345-320.jpg) ## Burning Into Saturn A short video about the [end of the Cassini mission](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/science/cassini-saturn-nasa.html). skip ad Images from NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute and the University of Arizona ## - [![Cassini Flies Toward a Fiery Death on Saturn](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/09/08/science/12SCI-CASSINI-finale/12SCI-CASSINI-finale-mediumThreeByTwo225.jpg) Cassini Flies Toward a Fiery Death on Saturn April 30, 2025](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/science/cassini-saturn-nasa.html) - [![Cassini Moves Inside Saturn’s Rings](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/04/21/science/space/cassini-inside-saturns-rings-1492637817402/cassini-inside-saturns-rings-1492637817402-mediumThreeByTwo225-v3.png) Cassini Moves Inside Saturn’s Rings June 5, 2017](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/21/science/space/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html) - [![Mapping Saturn’s Moons](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/12/16/science/space/cassini-maps-saturns-moons-1450214890386/cassini-maps-saturns-moons-1450214890386-mediumThreeByTwo225.png) Mapping Saturn’s Moons Aug. 12, 2016](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/18/science/space/nasa-cassini-maps-saturns-moons.html) - [![Cassini’s Images From Inside Saturn’s Rings](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/04/27/science/space/cassini-close-saturn-flyby-1493312128230/cassini-close-saturn-flyby-1493312128230-mediumThreeByTwo225-v3.jpg) Cassini’s Images From Inside Saturn’s Rings May 12, 2017](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/science/cassini-saturn-rings.html) - [![Out There](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/01/13/science/space/out-there-1421170453779/out-there-1421170453779-mediumThreeByTwo225.png) Out There Dec. 18, 2019](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/science/space/out-there.html) - [![Cassini Crashes Into Saturn, Its Mission Celebrated and Mourned](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/09/15/science/15cassini-beforeplunge/15cassini-beforeplunge-mediumThreeByTwo225.png) Cassini Crashes Into Saturn, Its Mission Celebrated and Mourned April 30, 2025](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/science/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html) Advertisement Close this overlay ## Go to previous Go to next Loading... ## Site Information Navigation - [© 2026The New York Times Company](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014792127-Copyright-notice) - [Home](https://www.nytimes.com/) - [Search](https://www.nytimes.com/search/) - [Contact Us](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015385887-Contact-Us) - [Work with us](https://www.nytco.com/careers/) - [Advertise](https://nytmediakit.com/) - [Your Ad Choices](https://www.nytimes.com/privacy/cookie-policy#how-do-i-manage-trackers) - [Privacy](https://www.nytimes.com/privacy/privacy-policy) - [Terms of Service](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014893428-Terms-of-service) - [Terms of Sale](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014893968-Terms-of-sale) ## Site Information Navigation - [Site Map](https://www.nytimes.com/sitemap/) - [Help](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us) - [Site Feedback](https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015385887-Contact-Us?redir=myacc) - [Subscriptions](https://www.nytimes.com/subscription?campaignId=37WXW) ### ##### Edition - [U.S.](https://www.nytimes.com/) - [International](http://global.nytimes.com/) - [中文 (Chinese)](http://cn.nytimes.com/) - [Español](https://www.nytimes.com/es/) ##### Help - [FAQ](https://www.nytimes.com/content/help/front.html) - [Contact Us](http://www.nytimes.com/help/index.html) ##### Type Size - [A Type size small]() - [A Type size medium]() - [A Type size large]() Close this modal window ### Log in #### To save articles or get newsletters, alerts or recommendations – all free. 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Readable Markdown	Cassini Arrives at Saturn Cassini arrived at Saturn in 2004, after a seven-year voyage. It was the first spacecraft to orbit the ringed planet. ![approach-PIA04913.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/approach-PIA04913-{{size}}.jpg) Northern Winter Like Earth, Saturn has a tilted axis. Cassini arrived in the depths of northern winter, with Saturn’s rings tipped up and its north pole in darkness. ![shadows-PIA07676.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA07676-{{size}}.jpg) A Hexagonal Storm Cassini used infrared to view the [hexagonal jet stream](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/science/space/storm-chasing-on-saturn.html) swirling around Saturn’s north pole, a six-sided vortex capped with a shimmering aurora. ![aurora-PIA11396.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/aurora-PIA11396-{{size}}.jpg) The Light Returns As spring approached and sunlight returned to Saturn’s north pole, Cassini studied the polar hexagon and the dark hurricane at its center. ![northpole-PIA17175.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/northpole-PIA17175-{{size}}.jpg) Approaching Spring Each season on Saturn lasts about seven Earth years. Cassini watched as Saturn’s rings slowly tipped downward, casting narrower and narrower shadows. ![shadows-PIA12708.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA12708-{{size}}.jpg) Saturn’s Spring Equinox The shadows grew narrower until the spring equinox, when Saturn’s rings and equator were flat to the sun. ![equinox-PIA11667.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/equinox-PIA11667-{{size}}.jpg) A Yearlong Storm The change in seasons brought a huge storm that wrapped around Saturn’s northern hemisphere. Cassini detected lightning deep within the planet. ![storm-PIA12826.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/storm-PIA12826-{{size}}.jpg) Titan Mission scientists were particularly interested in Titan, Saturn’s largest moon — a hazy ball larger than the planet Mercury. ![titan-PIA17179.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA17179-{{size}}.jpg) Cassini’s cameras were able to pierce Titan’s smoggy nitrogen atmosphere, revealing sunlight glinting on frigid lakes of [liquid methane](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/13/science/titan-flooded-canyons-saturn.html) and other hydrocarbons. ![titan-PIA18432.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA18432-{{size}}.jpg) ![titan-PIA17031.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA17031-{{size}}.jpg) A radar image of Ligeia Mare, a lake of liquid methane on Titan. Parachuting to Titan Cassini released the Huygens probe to parachute through Titan’s atmosphere. As it descended, the probe recorded rivers and deltas carved by methane rain. ![huygens-PIA08119.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/huygens-PIA08119-{{size}}.jpg) Images taken in four directions as the Huygens probe parachuted through Titan’s atmosphere. Moon Landing Huygens sent back the first images from the surface of an alien moon. ![huygens-PIA07232.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/huygens-PIA07232-{{size}}.jpg) Gravity Assist Cassini returned to Titan over 100 times, using the large moon’s gravity to gradually shift the spacecraft’s orbit around Saturn. ![titan-PIA14924.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA14924-{{size}}.jpg) Titan’s backlit atmosphere. ![moons-PIA17174.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA17174-{{size}}.jpg) Titan and Rhea, Saturn’s largest moons. Earth’s moon is larger than Rhea but smaller than Titan. Around the Rings Cassini used Titan’s gravity to tour Saturn’s rings, climbing high above the ring plane and threading gaps between the rings. ![atlas-PIA08941.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/atlas-PIA08941-{{size}}.jpg) The moonlet Atlas, only 19 miles across, follows the sharp edge of Saturn’s A ring. ![rings-PIA08253.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA08253-{{size}}.jpg) ![rings-PIA08304.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA08304-{{size}}.jpg) ![rings-PIA07568.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA07568-{{size}}.jpg) The faint D ring, Saturn’s innermost ring. ![rings-PIA11612.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA11612-{{size}}.jpg) The bright and narrow F ring. ![epimetheus-PIA12518.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/epimetheus-PIA12518-{{size}}.jpg) The moon Epimetheus, barely visible at top center, casts a shadow across the A ring. ![rings-PIA08306.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA08306-{{size}}.jpg) The dark Cassini Division separates Saturn’s A and B rings. ![rings-PIA21628.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA21628-{{size}}.jpg) A detailed view of the B ring. Rainbows and Starlight Cassini photographed the sun’s reflection and used background stars to measure the opacity of the rings. ![rainbow-PIA08393.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rainbow-PIA08393-{{size}}.jpg) A rainbow effect from reflected sunlight. ![star-PIA09829.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/star-PIA09829-{{size}}.jpg) Light from the star Antares filters through the rings. Sixty-Two Moons For 13 years, Cassini joined the intricate dance of [Saturn’s 62 moons](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/18/science/space/nasa-cassini-maps-saturns-moons.html). ![rhea-PIA12638.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rhea-PIA12638-{{size}}.jpg) The moons Rhea and Epimetheus. ![moons-PIA07644.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA07644-{{size}}.jpg) Clockwise from top: Telesto, Prometheus, Titan and Dione. ![titan-PIA08211.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/titan-PIA08211-{{size}}.jpg) Glowing Titan and tiny Janus. ![moons-PIA12767.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA12767-{{size}}.jpg) Rhea hovers above three distant moons. From left: Dione, Prometheus and Tethys. ![moons-PIA08216.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA08216-{{size}}.jpg) From left: Tethys, Enceladus and backlit Titan. Enceladus But of all of Saturn’s moons, Enceladus was the most surprising. ![saturn-PIA08166.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/saturn-PIA08166-{{size}}.jpg) Enceladus on the ring plane. ![enceladus-PIA18347.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA18347-{{size}}.jpg) A Hidden Ocean The icy crust of Enceladus encases an [ocean of water](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/science/space/a-moon-of-saturn-has-a-sea-scientists-say.html), dotted with [hydrothermal vents](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/science/saturn-cassini-moon-enceladus.html) and warmed by the stretching and squeezing of Saturn’s gravity. ![enceladus-PIA11133.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA11133-{{size}}.jpg) Geysers and Plumes Cassini [discovered geysers](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/science/space/10saturn.html) near the south pole of Enceladus, where plumes of water shoot into space and fall back as bright snow. ![enceladus-PIA08337.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA08337-{{size}}.jpg) ![anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a/anim-enceladus-PIA21887.gif) Geysers erupting during a Cassini flyby. ![enceladus-PIA14599.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA14599-{{size}}.jpg) Inside the Plumes Cassini flew through the plumes many times. The spacecraft’s instruments detected several [molecules associated with life](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/29/science/space/in-icy-breath-of-saturns-moon-enceladus-cassini-hunts-for-life.html), but were not designed to search for microbes. ![enceladus-PIA17184.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA17184-{{size}}.jpg) Could alien microbes be living inside Enceladus? It will take a future mission, and another spacecraft, to find the answer. ![enceladus-PIA08321.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/enceladus-PIA08321-{{size}}.jpg) Spray from Enceladus forms Saturn’s diffuse E ring. Rhea Rhea, Saturn’s second-largest moon, is nearly 1,000 miles wide and pocked with craters. ![rhea-PIA12696.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rhea-PIA12696-{{size}}.jpg) ![rhea-PIA19057.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rhea-PIA19057-{{size}}.jpg) Iapetus Like Earth’s moon, Iapetus orbits with the same side facing its planet. The moon’s leading hemisphere sweeps its orbit clean of dark dust, giving Iapetus a two-toned appearance. ![iapetus-PIA06168.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/iapetus-PIA06168-{{size}}.jpg) ![iapetus-PIA08384.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/iapetus-PIA08384-{{size}}.jpg) Dione Cassini flew close by Dione four times, and it discovered evidence of another ocean of water under the moon’s wispy crust of ice. ![dione-PIA07771.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/dione-PIA07771-{{size}}.jpg) ![moons-PIA12755.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/moons-PIA12755-{{size}}.jpg) The cratered moon Rhea hovers over distant Dione. ![dione-PIA08256.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/dione-PIA08256-{{size}}.jpg) Wispy terrain on Dione. Tethys Tethys is mostly water ice, marked with a large crater on one side and a canyon running from pole to pole on the other. ![tethys-PIA18355.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/tethys-PIA18355-{{size}}.jpg) ![tethys-PIA11624.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/tethys-PIA11624-{{size}}.jpg) Tethys appears ghostly white in ultraviolet light. Mimas Mimas is one of the most battered moons in the solar system, bearing dents and dimples from ancient impacts. ![mimas-PIA06176.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/mimas-PIA06176-{{size}}.jpg) ![mimas-PIA06412.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/mimas-PIA06412-{{size}}.jpg) Hyperion Not all of Saturn’s moons are round. Hyperion is pockmarked and irregular, and tumbles chaotically in its orbit around the planet. ![hyperion-PIA07739.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/hyperion-PIA07739-{{size}}.jpg) ![hyperion-PIA07740.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/hyperion-PIA07740-{{size}}.jpg) A Shared Orbit The moons Janus and Epimetheus share the same orbit, slipping past each other every four years in an endless relay race. ![epimetheus-PIA20482.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/epimetheus-PIA20482-{{size}}.jpg) Epimetheus ![janus-PIA18299.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/janus-PIA18299-{{size}}.jpg) Janus Spiral Waves When Janus and Epimetheus trade places, gravity forms a crest in Saturn’s B ring. Over decades, the crests form a [spiral wave](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/06/science/decoding-the-dance-of-saturn-s-rings.html), a grooved record of past moon crossings. ![ringwave-PIA21627.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/ringwave-PIA21627-{{size}}.jpg) Waves in Saturn’s B ring caused by the moon Janus. Bright Spokes Cassini studied the mysterious bright spokes, first seen by the [Voyager spacecraft](https://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000005343497/forty-years-of-voyager.html), that appear under the raking light of Saturn’s spring equinox. ![spokes-PIA11639.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/spokes-PIA11639-{{size}}.jpg) ![spokes-PIA11452.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/spokes-PIA11452-{{size}}.jpg) ![spokes-PIA11618.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/spokes-PIA11618-{{size}}.jpg) Faint spokes crossed by the long shadows of Janus and Mimas. Budding Moonlets The spring light also helped Cassini find small clumps and moonlets casting shadows over the rings. ![rings-PIA11665.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA11665-{{size}}.jpg) A tiny moonlet embedded in dense rings. Clearing a Gap The flattened moonlet Pan clears a path inside the rings, while Daphnis leaves a rippled wake where it passes. ![pan-PIA21436.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/pan-PIA21436-{{size}}.jpg) Pan ![pan-PIA08857.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/pan-PIA08857-{{size}}.jpg) Pan circling within the Encke Gap in Saturn’s A ring. ![daphnis-PIA17212.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/daphnis-PIA17212-{{size}}.jpg) Daphnis, the “wavemaker” moon. Shepherd Moons The moons Prometheus and Pandora straddle the narrow F ring, a thin band that is kinked and braided by the inner moon’s gravity. ![shepherd-PIA11621.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shepherd-PIA11621-{{size}}.jpg) Prometheus and Pandora. ![shepherd-PIA14653.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shepherd-PIA14653-{{size}}.jpg) Kinks and twists in the F ring. ![prometheus-PIA10593.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/prometheus-PIA10593-{{size}}.jpg) Prometheus carves a new ripple in the F ring. Overlapping Planes Some of Cassini’s most striking images were abstract — concentric rings with underlapping shadows. ![rings-PIA11493.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA11493-{{size}}.jpg) ![rings-PIA07515.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA07515-{{size}}.jpg) ![mimas-PIA06142.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/mimas-PIA06142-{{size}}.jpg) ![rings-PIA18303.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA18303-{{size}}.jpg) ![rings-PIA18367.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/rings-PIA18367-{{size}}.jpg) Banded Saturn Moons and rings cast crisp shadows across Saturn’s clouds. ![saturn-PIA08414.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/saturn-PIA08414-{{size}}.jpg) ![shadows-PIA07772.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA07772-{{size}}.jpg) ![shadows-PIA08832.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA08832-{{size}}.jpg) ![shadows-PIA14627.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA14627-{{size}}.jpg) Flattened at the Poles When Cassini was level with the rings, Saturn’s oblate shape became clear. The planet is wider than it is tall. ![shadows-PIA06606.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/shadows-PIA06606-{{size}}.jpg) ![saturn-PIA08242.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/saturn-PIA08242-{{size}}.jpg) Crescent Saturn with flattened pole. Backlit by the Sun Some of Cassini’s orbits took it behind Saturn, into hours of darkness. ![occultation-PIA14934.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/occultation-PIA14934-{{size}}.jpg) ![occultation-PIA08329\_fig2.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/occultation-PIA08329_fig2-{{size}}.jpg) ![occultation-PIA17172.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/occultation-PIA17172-{{size}}.jpg) Other Worlds Between the Rings The spacecraft looked out toward the planet Uranus, a blue speck in the distance. ![uranus-PIA17178.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/uranus-PIA17178-{{size}}.jpg) And Cassini turned back to find Earth through a gap in Saturn’s rings. ![earth-PIA21445.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/earth-PIA21445-{{size}}.jpg) Last Images Cassini took its [final set of images](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/science/cassini-grand-finale-saturn.html) on Thursday. The sequence included a brief glimpse of the moon Enceladus as it slipped behind Saturn. ![anim-enceladus-setting.gif](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/7d722ef51c6c6f53e24fdd6b5c43cb6793b2422a/anim-enceladus-setting.gif) Dive After 22 passes [inside the rings](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/04/21/science/space/cassini-inside-saturns-rings.html), Cassini plowed into Saturn’s rippled clouds on Friday. The spacecraft incinerated itself to prevent any future contamination of the moons Enceladus or Titan. ![final-PIA21345.jpg](https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2017/09/14/cassini-saturn-images/assets/images/final-PIA21345-{{size}}.jpg) Burning Into Saturn
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