卡西尼号的红外光土星

2022年7月24日

Saturn in Infrared from Cassini
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SSI; Processing: Maksim Kakitsev

Explanation: Many details of Saturn appear clearly in infrared light. Bands of clouds show great structure, including long stretching storms. Also quite striking in infrared is the unusual hexagonal cloud pattern surrounding Saturn’s North Pole. Each side of the dark hexagon spans roughly the width of our Earth. The hexagon’s existence was not predicted, and its origin and likely stability remains a topic of research. Saturn’s famous rings circle the planet and cast shadows below the equator. The featured image was taken by the robotic Cassini spacecraft in 2014 in several infrared colors. In 2017 September, the Cassini mission was brought to a dramatic conclusion when the spacecraft was directed to dive into ringed giant.

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卡西尼号的红外光土星
影像提供: NASA, JPL-Caltech, SSI; 影像处理: Maksim Kakitsev

说明: 在红外光波段，土星的许多细节清晰可辨。例如云带上有大型的结构体，包括伸展得很颀长的风暴系统。在红外光波段非常醒目的，还有环拱土星北极的不寻常六角云，而这个暗沉的六角形，每一边的边长和地球之直径相当。并没有预测指出六角云应当存在，所以它的起源及稳定度仍然是研究的课题。环拱着土星的著名行星环，则投射出赤道下方的暗影。这张主题影像，是2014年由卡西尼号太空船摄于数个红外光波段。在2017年9月，卡西尼号接获指令跃入土星，为卡西尼任务划下戏剧性的句点。

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