NASA hasreleaseda rather sensational view of Saturn ’s magnetic north pole , taken by the Cassini spacecraft as it prepares for its impending demise .
Cassini is scheduled to dive into the air of Saturn on September 15 , where it will be destroyed . This will bestow an end to a hugely successful 13 - yr charge at Saturn .
This image of Saturn ’s north pole was press April 26 , 2017 . It was taken from a distance of 267,000 kilometers ( 166,000 miles ) away , with about 16 kilometer ( 10 miles ) per pixel in the image . Cassini was looking towards Saturn from the sunlit side of its ring .
What this range of a function does n’t reveal is the large and mysterioushexagonal cloud patternthat surround Saturn ’s north terminal . We ’re not quite indisputable what ’s causing it , although it ’s possibly something to do with jet plane flow around the pole , with flatus keeping the form sharp .
Saturn experienced its northern summertime solstice on May 24 , 2017 , when the north pole received its maximal sunlight . The Sun is now descending in the northerly sky of Saturn , and finally , the north pole will experience Earth - eld of duskiness .
And Cassini , too , is preparing for its own precipitation . As the spacecraft is bunk out of fuel , the conclusion was made to purposefully destruct it in the atmosphere of Saturn , to forestall it one day unintentionally contaminate one of the moonshine of Saturn .
This Grand Finale phase of Cassini set out on April 22 , 2017 , when the ballistic capsule used the gravitational jerk of Saturn ’s enceinte moon , Titan , to send it on a five - calendar month death dive . There will be no shortage of lamentation when the missionary post is over , but until then – and for years after , no doubt – we can continue to revel some of Cassini ’s arresting ikon of Saturn .
" The end of Cassini ’s mission will be a touching moment , but a meet and very necessary completion of an amazing journey , " said Earl Maize , Cassini project manager at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena , California , in astatement .
" The Grand Finale represents the mop up of a seven - year programme to apply the spacecraft ’s remaining resource in the most scientifically fat elbow room possible . By safely disposing of the spacecraft in Saturn ’s atmosphere , we avoid any theory Cassini could impact one of Saturn ’s lunar month somewhere down the road , maintain them pristine for succeeding exploration . "
