Part of why I like this one is that I was confused by some of it, and did some research, and thus learned that the big hazy blue/white thing isn’t like… a rocket’s glow from near and close to the camera, but rather it is a wispy but vast object that “exists out there”!
This is one of the most beautiful images I’ve ever seen. The optical effects are stunning, and the fact that you can see the entire scope of it, for a planet of inconceivable size, in one view just blows me away. This image feels like the essence of cosmological wonder. It’s almost painful to take in.
Part of why I like this one is that I was confused by some of it, and did some research, and thus learned that the big hazy blue/white thing isn’t like… a rocket’s glow from near and close to the camera, but rather it is a wispy but vast object that “exists out there”!
It is the Phoebe Ring, which was predicted to exist by Steven Soter in 1974 and first observed in 2009. It is made from the ejecta dust of Phoebe which formed far from the sun, probably had water on it while it was radioactively hot, and only later was captured by Saturn in the inner system.
This is one of the most beautiful images I’ve ever seen. The optical effects are stunning, and the fact that you can see the entire scope of it, for a planet of inconceivable size, in one view just blows me away. This image feels like the essence of cosmological wonder. It’s almost painful to take in.