Saturn and various views of its cloud tops, all taken during the past few days. Several of the lower shots show the same areas seen at different wavelengths of light. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
It’s easy to be distracted by Saturn’s awesome rings and sparkling moons. But the planet itself is amazing, a surface-less sea of clouds. They constantly churn and spin with winds faster than any Earthly hurricane.
All of these shots came down from the Cassini probe during just the past few days. Several show the same patches of cloud tops, as seen through different camera filters. In the lower right, the rings and a moon cast shadows on the clouds.
Very pretty! You know, Average Joe or Average Jane might mistake some of those for shots of Jupiter, they’re so active and defined. I love our awesome solar system!