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Cassini's Best Images

Posted by timothy on from the ready-for-their-close-ups dept.

CheshireCatCO writes "The winners of the best images from the Cassini spacecraft (taken since Cassini images of Saturn were first acquired in February 2004) have been announced. The winner of best color image is In Saturn's Shadow, the stunning, high-phase portrait of Saturn from opposite the Sun. Winners of best black-and-white and best movie (both categories resulted in ties) are also available."

28 comments

  1. Hey! by Smordnys+s'regrepsA · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can see my house from here.

    All kidding aside, the little dot in Saturn's rings is us!

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    Just -1, Troll talking to another.
    1. Re:Hey! by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 0

      Really? It looks like an airbrushed drawing to me.

    2. Re:Hey! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was glad "In Saturn's Shadow" pulled in the most votes. Not only is it a simply stunning picture of a beautiful planet, but it's interesting in more ways than just aesthetics. First of all, is the fact that our home is in the picture, too: purpose and origin. It's scientifically useful, as sunlight passing through the rings and atmosphere reveals details about both. It also is an will be rare for the foreseeable future. It took a $2 billion space probe to take that picture.

      It also makes a perfect background for widescreen monitors.

  2. Re:FP for 2008? by Smordnys+s'regrepsA · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is /. - everyone else is sitting in front of their computer, naked, reading /. WHILE drinking.

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    Just -1, Troll talking to another.
  3. Feliz Ano by l1nuXB0X · · Score: 1

    There we are, a mote of dust suspended in a sun beam, a pale blue dot.

  4. Re:FP for 2008? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I was thinking of staying up to do the first post of 2008, but then I remembered the different time zones made it impossible :) oh well, happy new year!

  5. Sponge Moon Square Pants by Tablizer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One of my very favorite Cassini images is an enhanced view of the odd sponge-looking moon Hyperion:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hyperion_false_color.jpg

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    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Sponge Moon Square Pants by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 1

      With caption at http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=1507.

      Oddly, that image didn't make it into the options for the voting. (Candidates were largely nominated by visitors to the site, incidentally.) The black and white version of that image *was* in the voting, but only got 6% of the BW vote. Pity, because I agree that it's a really amazing view.

    2. Re:Sponge Moon Square Pants by macshit · · Score: 2, Funny

      One of my very favorite Cassini images is an enhanced view of the odd sponge-looking moon Hyperion
      My pores feel cleaner just looking at it!
      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
    3. Re:Sponge Moon Square Pants by mangu · · Score: 1

      Hyperion is also interesting because its rotation is chaotic. There's a project for simulating this rotation in this book (chapter 12, item 12.26)

  6. Are these images from an explorer spacecraft? by listen_to_blogs · · Score: 0

    The images look more like drawings/computer generated images. The elliptical paths are perfect!! (as if generated using the equation of perfect ellipse!!!) I hope this is not a joke!! listen_to_slashdot

    1. Re:Are these images from an explorer spacecraft? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As N -> bignum, even rings composed of a discrete number of particles will look continuous. Additionally the eccentricity of Saturn's rings is minute. They look like perfect ellipses because at the resolution these photographs were assembled you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

    2. Re:Are these images from an explorer spacecraft? by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 4, Informative

      The images are real (and as unaltered as humanly possible). Then again, the accuracy of the figures should be an indication that this is so: the best ellipse you can draw (even with a computer) is no match for the shape of the Sun or any of the gas-giant planets, for example. (Also, most of the rings are really darned circular, especially at this level.)

  7. Re:FP for 2008? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slacker. You could have easily made 24 first posts to cover your ass. Actually you would need less than that since Slashdot only posts a couple of stories during nighttime in North America.

  8. Re:FP for 2008? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why does it make it impossible? Pretend you are posting from Tuvalu (UTC +12), or maybe go with UTC. Too late now, though.

  9. Damn flash movies by argent · · Score: 1

    Anyone know how to download those movies and convert them to an open format so my Mac mini can actually play them? The flash format must be horribly inefficient, why do people use it?

    1. Re:Damn flash movies by CheshireCatCO · · Score: 2, Informative

      Click the title of the movie (not the movie itself). This will open the page with the caption and (typically) three formats of the movie, including QuickTime -- which your Mac should surely play.

      They upload three formats because there really isn't just one that works for everyone.

  10. Saturn's Moon Dione. By far the best. by JosefWells · · Score: 1

    http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/?IDNumber=PIA07745

    Big, Detailed, Beautiful.

    Perfect for dual-monitor setups.

  11. Not if you made a "Quantum Post" by StressGuy · · Score: 1

    I knew I'd be able to work in a Quantum Physics joke at some point, This year, I resolve to come up with one that's actually funny or, at least, amusing in some way.

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    A goal is a dream with a deadline