NASA Shares Old Pic Showing Saturn's Glorious Rings In Natural Colour

The Cassini spacecraft bid farewell to the galaxy on September 15, 2017.

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In the picture, Saturn appears half-lit in gold, blue, and tan shades.

NASA often shares space pictures and videos on its social media handle which usually leaves netizens mesmerised. The space agency occasionally offers stunning images taken by various telescopes and spacecraft as well. This time too, it uploaded an old mesmerising picture of Saturn showing the gas giant's golden north hemisphere and its main rings in natural colour. 

"Our Cassini spacecraft floats above Saturn, glimpsing the gas giant's golden north hemisphere and its main rings in this natural color view, captured in 2013," NASA wrote in the caption of the post. "The color palate of Saturn's hemispheres change as the planet shifts from season to season, tinting blue during fall and winter and gold during spring and summer," it added. 

Take a look below:

In the picture, Saturn appears half-lit in gold, blue, and tan shades. A hexagonal storm appears faintly in tan at the top of the planet's pole, NASA wrote. A shadow extends, blocking out the planet's rings, which appear as tenuous lines of white and tan, the space agency further explained. 

NASA shared the image just a few hours ago and since then it has accumulated more than 626,000 likes. Internet users flooded the comment section with all kinds of reactions. 

Also Read | NASA Says 4 Of Uranus' Large Moons May Hold Water

"I love that the poles are shaped like hexagons. How does that happen??" wrote one user. "That hexagonal storm near Saturn's north pole never disappoints. Great picture. More Saturn posts," commented another. 

A third user said, "Looks like an golden ball," while a fourth added, "Space is just so perfect, curious and beautiful". 

The Cassini spacecraft bid farewell to the galaxy on September 15, 2017. The probe - a joint effort of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency - was launched in 1997 and delivered unprecedented looks at the ringed planet and its many moons during its mission lifespan.
 

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