NASA's Cassini spacecraft spent more than a decade collecting data on the Saturn system. It has captured stunning images of the ringed planet as well as its collection of moons that provide researchers with a glimpse of Saturn's alien world.
The latest data sent by Cassini come in the form of a high quality image showing Enceladus and Tethys, Saturn's well-known moons, in near-perfect alignment. Enceladus, the smaller of the two natural satellites, can be seen acting as the bull's eye in their positions.
The similar distances between the two moons and the Cassini spacecraft allow observers to compare the sizes of Enceladus and Tethys. Enceladus measures at around 313 miles (504 kilometers) wide, while the larger Tethys comes in at around 660 miles (1,062 kilometers) across.
At the time of the transit of the moons on Sept. 24, the Cassini spacecraft was situated around 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) from Saturn's Enceladus and around 1.6 million miles (2.6 million kilometers) from Tethys. This means that the two natural satellites were only around 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers) from each other.
The Cassini space mission is a joint project between the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. It is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), one of the divisions of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) located in Pasadena, California.
The JPL was responsible in creating the mission's Cassini orbiter as well as the two cameras onboard the spacecraft.
Photographs sent back to Earth by Cassini are processed in the Space Science Institute's imaging operations center.
Scientists are paying close attention to Saturn's Enceladus after discovering that the moon could possibly contain a subterranean ocean buried beneath its icy crust. It is believed that this body of water is made up of elements that could sustain alien life.
The Cassini spacecraft is currently preparing to carry out its final flyby of Enceladus that is set to occur on Dec. 19. The mission, which is known as E-22 to represent Cassini's 22nd flyby, will have the orbital probe come within 3,106 miles (4,999 kilometers) of Enceladus' surface.
