Journey to Saturn

The Ringed Planet
In this composite photograph compiled from images produced by Cassini in 2006, the Earth appears as a tiny pinprick of light in the upper left between Saturn's outer rings.

Saturn and its Moons
Cassini's mission this time around is to pass close to the moon Enceladus, which is the white body in the left middle of this frame, between Saturn's rings and the moon Dione, the large object that lies in the foreground of this montage image. Saturn is believed to have 31 moons.

Enceladus
Cassini will fly through the 465-mile-high plumes that have been detected on this moon's surface.

Southern Pole
This alternative view of Cassini's target shows the part of Enceladus that is geologically active. here, the spacecraft will encounter geysers of ice, water vapor and dust erupting from fissures in the surface.

Shadow on the Rings
Cassini took this image from 15 million miles away in 2004, too close to get the entire planet into one frame. The white dot at the bottom right is Enceladus.

The Rings
An ultraviolet image provided by Cassini shows, from left to right, the outer C and inner B rings. The turquoise indicates areas of dense ice.

Planetary Vortex
In 2006, Cassini captured this view of Saturn's southern pole, where a hurricane-like storm swirls.

"Close-Up"
From 1.6 million miles away, the icy body Tethys seems to hover over the planet's surface, and the rings appear as a dark, thin curved line.

The Saturn System
If all goes well, Cassini's mission, originally scheduled to conclude in June, will continue until 2010. The flyby near Enceladus is one of eight hoped-for encounters.