‘The Big Empty’ Close to Saturn tagged posts

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is shown diving through the gap between Saturn and its rings in this artist’s depiction. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

As Cassini spacecraft prepares to shoot the narrow gap between Saturn and its rings for the second time in its Grand Finale, Cassini engineers are delighted, while ring scientists are puzzled, that the region appears to be relatively dust-free. This assessment is based on data Cassini collected during its first dive through the region on April 26. With this information in hand, the Cassini team will now move forward with its preferred plan of science observations. “The region between the rings and Saturn is ‘the big empty,’ apparently,” said Cassini Project Manager Earl Maize of NASA’s JPL in Pasadena, California...