INBOX ASTRONOMY: NEWS ALERT -- "THE SLANT ON SATURN'S RINGS" (STScI-PRC03-23)

INBOX ASTRONOMY: NEWS ALERT -- "THE SLANT ON SATURN'S RINGS"
(STScI-PRC03-23)

FOR RELEASE: 9:00 am (EDT) September 9, 2003

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC03-23


THE SLANT ON SATURN'S RINGS

This is a series of images of Saturn, as seen at many different
wavelengths, when the planet's rings were at a maximum tilt of
27 degrees toward Earth. Saturn experiences seasonal tilts away
from and toward the Sun, much the same way Earth does. This
happens over the course of its 29.5-year orbit. This means that
approximately every 30 years, Earth observers can catch their
best glimpse of Saturn's South Pole and the southern side of the
planet's rings. Between March and April 2003, researchers took
full advantage to study the gas giant at maximum tilt. They used
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to capture detailed images of
Saturn's Southern Hemisphere and the southern face of its rings.

Credit: NASA and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona)

To see and read more, please click on
http://hubblesite.org/news/2003/23

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA),
for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of
international cooperation between NASA and the European Space
Agency (ESA).

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