Can't Get Enough Of These

A stunning high res photo of Saturn’s Moon Enceladus

Current mood: Bob Belcher saying ‘oh my god’

NASA’s Cassini reveals the full glory of Saturn’s rings

“Composed of 99.9% water-ice, the ring system has thousands of thin gaps, and was thicker and more varied in the past. The once-rocky material has coalesced into moons, but the watery rings will remain for as long as our Solar System exists.”

In the 1600s, the earliest telescopes saw that Saturn had “ears,” while later observers all the way back then finally saw their true nature: a ringed system with complex gaps, bands and colorations throughout. Since then, Saturn’s rings have been a source of wonder and puzzlement to skywatchers everywhere. The only ring system visible through most telescopes from Earth, Saturn’s main rings measure more than 70,000 km long, yet are no more than 1 km in thickness. Once thought to have only two gaps in them, the Cassini spacecraft has revealed over a thousand, teaching us that Saturn’s rings are ancient – likely as old as the planet itself – and will likely continue to exist for as long as our Sun shines.

Go get the full story in a glorious set of pictures from Cassini and no more than 200 words on today’s Mostly Mute Monday!

Known distances of stars from Earth in the 1890s, chart and table. The story of the sun, moon and stars. 1898.

The Dew Drop of Saturn : The water-world Enceladus appears here to sit atop Saturns rings like a drop of dew upon a leaf. Even though it appears like a tiny drop before the might of the giant Saturn, Enceladus reminds us that even small worlds hold mysteries and wonders to be explored.

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I think I need this for my birthday this year

Zodiac Constellation Cake