The Spectrally Changing Face of Saturn
Date: 12 September 2003
Depicts: Saturn
Copyright: NASA and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona)
This set of images displays Saturn in six different wavelengths. Counterclockwise from top left, the wavelengths are in the ultraviolet, violet, yellow, deep red, and two in the near-infrared.
Even a quick look at the set of six images reveals the changing face of Saturn between different spectral regions. In the ultraviolet, Saturn is much brighter than the rings. The opposite is true at some near-infrared wavelengths. Saturn's bands change dramatically throughout the displayed spectral region.
These spectral changes can be viewed by combining three images into a false-color image by displaying the short, middle, and long-wavelength image in blue, green, and red light, respectively.
The images were taken on March 7, 2003 between 1:43 and 2:27 am EST. The wavelengths for the six images are 0.27, 0.41, 0.59, 0.73, 0.89, and 0.95 micrometers.
