Pale Blue Orb
Last weekend was a unique occasion for the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn. Normally, Cassini is not allowed to point its cameras very close to the Sun (15 degrees in most circumstances) to avoid hurting the sensitive detectors with too much sunlight. Last weekend the spacecraft spent 12 hours in the shadow of Saturn; safely shielded from the Sun, Cassini was able to look back toward the Sun and see the ring system in a whole new light. The effect is similar to being in a dark theater and looking back toward the projector: you can see the dust and smoke in the air quite clearly. The first three of many images that Cassini took in this unique geometry have been released and they are spectacular. In one, we see our home planet from a vantage point of 850 million miles. Not since Voyager took a family portrait of the planets have we seen our world from such a distance. It’s a humbling reminder of our place in the universe.