                 APOD: 2017 July 28 - Noodle Mosaic of Saturn

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                 2017 July 28
                                      [2]
                           Noodle Mosaic of Saturn
    Image Credit: NASA [3] , JPL-Caltech [4] , Space Science Institute [5] ,
                            Hampton University [6]

Explanation: On April 26 the Cassini spacecraft swooped toward Saturn on the
first of its Grand Finale dives [7]  between Saturn and rings. In this long,
thin, noodle mosaic [8] , a rapid series of 137 low resolution images captured
by Cassini's wide-angle camera track its progress across the gas giant's
swirling cloud tops. The mosaic projection maps the arc along Saturn's [9]
atmospheric curve on to a flat image plane. At top, the first mosaic panel is
centered at 90 degrees north, about 72,400 kilometers above Saturn's dark
north polar vortex [10] . As the mosaic progresses it narrows, the pixel scale
shrinking from 8.7 kilometers to 1 kilometer per pixel. For the last panel,
the spacecraft is 8,374 kilometers above a region 18 degrees north of Saturn's
equator. Frame orientation changes near the bottom as Cassini rotates to
maneuver its large, dish-shaped, high-gain antenna forward, providing a shield
before crossing Saturn's [11]  ring plane.

                Tomorrow's picture: burrito of awesomeness [12]

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [24] (MTU [25] ) & Jerry Bonnell [26]
                                  (UMCP [27] )
          NASA Official:  Phillip Newman Specific rights apply [28] .
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              A service of: ASD [30]  at NASA [31]  / GSFC [32]
                           & Michigan Tech. U. [33]
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1707/PIA21617CassiniNoodle.jpg
  [3] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [4] http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
  [5] http://www.spacescience.org/index.php
  [6] http://science.hamptonu.edu/
  [7] https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/ overview/
  [8] https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21617
  [9] https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21441
  [10] ap130502.html
  [11] ap170125.html
  [12] ap170729.html
  [13] ap170727.html
  [14] archivepix.html
  [15] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [16] lib/aptree.html
  [17] http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [18] calendar/allyears.html
  [19] /apod.rss
  [20] lib/edlinks.html
  [21] lib/about_apod.html
  [22] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=170728
  [23] ap170729.html
  [24] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [25] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [26] http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [27] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [28] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [29] http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [30] http://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [31] http://www.nasa.gov/
  [32] http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [33] http://www.mtu.edu/
