
Although we are used to seeing Saturn's moons lit directly by the Sun, sometimes we can catch them illuminated by "Saturnshine." Here, we see Mimas (upper right) lit by light reflected off of Saturn. With each reflection, the intensity of the illumination is decreased significantly. To better illustrate the effect of Saturnshine, in this image Mimas (246 miles, 396 kilometers across), has had its brightness enhanced by a factor of 2.5 relative to the rings. This view looks toward the trailing hemisphere of Mimas. North on Mimas is up and rotated 8 degrees to the right. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 16, 2015. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) from Mimas and at a Sun-Mimas-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 148 degrees. Image scale is 9 miles (15 kilometers) per pixel. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia18312
Most NASA images are in the public domain and free to use. Credit NASA as the source. Check NASA's media usage guidelines for details. Images featuring identifiable individuals may require additional permissions.
NASA ID
PIA18312
Date Created
April 13, 2015
Center
JPL
Media Type
image
Download this image in multiple resolutions. All NASA media are free for public use.
480px