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<\/a>The US space agency (Nasa) has released a spectacular new picture of the Planet Saturn, acquired by the Cassini spacecraft in July. The image was produced as part of The Day The Earth Smiled<\/a> Project, which was led by Dr Carolyn Porco. She describes how and why the picture was put together.<\/p>\nFour months ago, our cameras on Cassini were commanded to execute a routine imaging sequence during an event that was anything but routine.<\/p>\n
On 19 July, an array of overlapping images framing Saturn, its entire ring system and a host of its moons was acquired while Cassini was deep in the shadow created by the planet’s eclipse of the Sun.<\/p>\n
This arrangement of Sun, Saturn, and machine made for a rare opportunity to image from the outer Solar System the planets in close to the Sun.<\/p>\n
The intent: To catch a precious glimpse of our own planet – tiny, remote, alone – as it would be seen from a billion miles away.<\/p>\n