Anyone with a decent telescope can catch a glimpse of Saturn’s magnificent rings, but NASA released a photo of the side of the gas giant that’s impossible to see from Earth—the back. The photo was captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on one of its final orbits before ending its nearly 20-year mission with a self-immolating plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere.
It’s an incredible picture, depicting a crescent sliver of light crowning Saturn, which casts its own shadow on the thick ring system. Of course, it’s not the only image Cassini captured that’s out of reach for Earthbound observers.
This image of the hexagonal storm that’s churned for decades (and possibly centuries) at Saturn’s north pole was taken in 2016. While a hexagon seems like an odd shape for a naturally occurring storm, physicists were able to recreate the phenomenon in a cylindrical water tank placed atop a spinning table.
Speaking of storms, Cassini caught a fantastic view of Saturn’s “Great White Spot” overtaking itself as it swirled through the atmosphere. Like Jupiter’s “Great Red Spot,” this massive storm is visible from Earth.
Finally, Cassini also snapped a stunning photo of Saturn eclipsing the sun, showing a radiant halo encircling the planet and its rings positively glowing. In a way, you might be in the photo, too. If you look closely at the upper left of the primary ring system, there’s a very tiny bright speck—it’s the Earth.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a while to get more close-up images of the seventh planet. Two years from now, NASA’s Dragonfly is scheduled to launch, beginning its six-year voyage to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Once on the surface, the quadcopter drone will investigate how life evolved back on Earth—and snap more than a few photos. 
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Lead image: NASA
