NASA. BIG FORMAT. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has pr - Lot 188

NASA. BIG FORMAT. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided images of Saturn in many colors, from black and white to orange, blue, green and red. But in this image, image processing specialists have worked to provide a sharp, extremely precise view of Saturn, which highlights the planet's pastel colors. Bands of subtle colors (yellows, browns, grays) distinguish the differences in the clouds above Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system. Saturn's high-altitude clouds are made up of colorless ammonia ice. Above these clouds is a layer of haze or smog, produced by ultraviolet sunlight on methane. Smog contributes to the planet's subtle variations in color. Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, casts a shadow on the giant planet as it passes just above the ring system. The flattened disk swirling around Saturn is the planet's most recognizable feature, and this image shows it in great detail. This is the planet's ring system, made up mainly of chunks of water ice. Although it appears that the disk is made up of just a few rings, it is in fact made up of tens of thousands of thin rings. This image also shows the two classic divisions of the ring system. Encke's narrow cleft is closest to the outer edge of the disk; Cassini's division is the wide cleft near the center. 1998. Vintage chromogenic print. Label on back. 25.4 x 20.4cm with margins.