Image ssc2009-19a

Spitzer Space Telescope

• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• California Institute of Technology
• Vision for Space Exploration

Astronomical Images

— Chronological

— By Subject

— Zoomable Images

Artist Conceptions

— Chronological

— By Subject

Video/Animation

— Chronological

— By Subject

Background Graphics

— Chronological

— By Subject

Launch Images

Satellite & Hardware

Facilities

JPL Multimedia

Image Use Policy

Search the Gallery

Image Gallery > Astronomical Images > Solar System Objects > ssc2009-19a

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Virginia

Infrared Ring Around Saturn

This diagram highlights a slice of Saturn's largest ring. The ring (red band in inset photo) was discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which detected infrared light, or heat, from the dusty ring material. Spitzer viewed the ring edge-on from its Earth-trailing orbit around the sun.

The ring has a diameter equivalent to 300 Saturns lined up side to side. And it's thick too -- about 20 Saturns could fit into its vertical height. The ring is tilted about 27 degrees from Saturn's main ring plane.

The Spitzer data were taken by its multiband imaging photometer and show infrared light with a wavelength of 24 microns.

The picture of Saturn was taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

To download, choose your preferred resolution and file format below. "High-Resolution" files will always be the highest resolution and widest crop available, intended for print. Other resolutions are provided for convenient on-screen viewing.

Screen-Resolution (750x600) : JPEG (112 KB)
Medium-Resolution (1500x1200) : JPEG (176 KB)
High-Resolution (3000x2400) : JPEG (1.3 MB) | Mac TIFF (1.7 MB)

About the Object (1)
Object name: Saturn

About the Data

Spitzer Data

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Virginia
Release Date: 2009/10/06

Other Data

Image Credit: Hubble image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/AURA

Additional Info

Press Release: NASA Space Telescope Discovers Largest Ring Around Saturn

INDIVIDUAL IMAGES

Big Band of Dust

High-Resolution (387x727): JPEG | Mac TIFF
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Virginia

The Spitzer Space Telescope is a NASA mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This website is maintained by the Spitzer Science Center, located on the campus of the California Institute of Technology and part of NASA's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center. Privacy Policy