If he had sat in mission control alongside the scientists in charge of the Cassini spacecraft when it made its climactic entry into Saturn's orbit, Galileo Galilei would have been astonished. When he discovered the planet in 1610, looking through his primitive telescope, Galileo perceived Saturn's rings as two large moons, which he described as "handles," flanking the planet. He was baffled two years later when these moons seemed to disappear. (In fact, Saturn was then at a different tilt relative to Earth, and Galileo could not make out the thin edge of the rings.) In this interactive, explore how Cassini is helping to answer fundamental questions about Saturn's rings, and marvel at close-up imagery that Galileo could never have imagined.
To
launch the interactive, click on the image at left.—Susan K. Lewis
