Cassini to Photograph Earth From Deep Space   
       
   June 19, 2013:  On July 19, 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will photograph   
   Saturn and its entire ring system during a total eclipse of the sun. Cassini   
   has done this twice before during its previous 9 years in orbit, but this time   
   will be different.   
       
   "This time, the images to be collected will capture, in natural color, a   
   glimpse of our own planet next to Saturn and its rings on a day that will be   
   the first time Earthlings know in advance their picture will be taken from a   
   billion miles away," says Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team lead at the   
   Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.   
       
   This simulated view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the expected   
   positions of Saturn and Earth on July 19, 2013, around the time Cassini will   
   take Earth's picture. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth will appear as a   
   small, pale blue dot between the rings of Saturn.  The entire system is too   
   big for Cassini to capture in a single snapshot, so the spacecraft will create   
   a mosaic, or multi-image portrait.   Cassini will start obtaining the Earth   
   part of the mosaic at 2:27 p.m. PDT (5:27 p.m. EDT or 21:27 UTC) and end about   
   15 minutes later, all while Saturn is eclipsing the sun from Cassini's point   
   of view. The spacecraft's unique vantage point in Saturn's shadow will provide   
   a special scientific opportunity to look at the planet's rings. At the time of   
   the photo, North America and part of the Atlantic Ocean will be in sunlight.   
       
   "While Earth will be only about a pixel in size from Cassini's vantage point   
   1.44 billion kilometers away, the team is looking forward to giving the world   
   a chance to see what their home looks like from Saturn," says Linda Spilker,   
   Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,   
   Calif. "We hope you'll join us in waving at Saturn from Earth, so we can   
   commemorate this special opportunity."   
       
   Unlike two previous Cassini eclipse mosaics of the Saturn system in 2006,   
   which captured Earth, and another in 2012, the July 19 image will be the first   
   to capture the Saturn system with Earth in natural color, as human eyes would   
   see it. It also will be the first to capture Earth and its moon with Cassini's   
   highest-resolution camera. The probe's position will allow it to turn its   
   cameras in the direction of the sun, where Earth will be, without damaging the   
   spacecraft's sensitive detectors.   
       
   http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-204   
       
   This will be the first time Earthlings have had advance notice that their   
   picture will be taken from interplanetary distances. To participate, click   
   here .   
       
   http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/waveatsaturn/   
       
   "Ever since we caught sight of the Earth among the rings of Saturn in   
   September 2006 in a mosaic that has become one of Cassini's most beloved   
   images, I have wanted to do it all over again, only better," says Porco.     
   "This time, I wanted to turn the entire event into an opportunity for everyone   
   around the globe to savor the uniqueness of our planet and the preciousness of   
   the life on it."   Porco and her imaging team associates examined Cassini's   
   planned flight path for the remainder of its Saturn mission in search of a   
   time when Earth would not be obstructed by Saturn or its rings. Working with   
   other Cassini team members, they found the July 19 opportunity would permit   
   the spacecraft to spend time in Saturn's shadow to duplicate the views from   
   earlier in the mission to collect both visible and infrared imagery of the   
   planet and its ring system.   This latest image will continue a NASA legacy of   
   space-based images of our fragile home, including the 1968 "Earthrise" image   
   taken by the Apollo 8 moon mission from about 240,000 miles (380,000   
   kilometers) away and the 1990 "Pale Blue Dot" image taken by Voyager 1 from   
   about 4 billion miles (6 billion kilometers) away. July 19th, concludes Porco,   
   "will be a day for people all over the globe to celebrate together the   
   extraordinary achievements that have made such interplanetary photo sessions   
   possible. And it will be a day to celebrate life on the Pale Blue Dot."   
       
   To learn more about the public outreach activities associated with the taking   
   of the image, visit: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/waveatsaturn .   
   Credits:   
       
   Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA   
       
   More information:   
       
   Cassini home page @ nasa.gov   
       
   Cassini home page @ JPL   
       
   Captain's Log -- beautifully-written commentary on Cassini images penned by   
   Carolyn Porco   
       
   The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European   
   Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL manages the Cassini-Huygens   
   mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, and designed,   
   developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras. The   
   imaging team consists of scientists from the United States, the United   
   Kingdom, France and Germany. The imaging operations center is based at the   
   Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.94   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)