Incredible picture of Saturn that runs rings around all the others (and if you look carefully, you'll see Earth in the distance)




There have been some amazing photographs taken of Saturn over the years, but none quite like this.



The stunning image comes courtesy of the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft while it was in orbit around the planet, which is the sixth furthest from the sun and lies around 800million miles from Earth.



It was taken at night as the probe looked back at the eclipsed sun, resulting in a picture that one Nasa astronomer described as ‘like no other’.

Out of this world: This amazing picture of Saturn was taken by the Cassini probe. If you look carefully, you can see planet Earth to the left, nestling just above the bright rings

WHERE DID SATURN'S RINGS COME FROM? One theory is that the rings are the remains of a huge moon that orbited Saturn 4.5bn years ago. It is believed a layer of hydrogen gas was responsible for the moon's destruction. That gas has disappeared, leaving just the majestic rings as evidence of the event. In the aftermath of its destruction, as its remains continued to circle Saturn, a layer of ice was transferred to orbit the planet and its rings were born, according to researchers. The original rings were 10 to 100 times larger than they are now, but over time the ice in the outer rings has coalesced into some of Saturn's tiny inner moons, according to Robin Canup, astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

Here’s his explanation of why the image is so unusual: ‘First, the night side of Saturn is seen to be partly lit by light reflected from its own majestic ring system.

‘Next, the rings themselves appear dark when silhouetted against Saturn, but quite bright when viewed away from Saturn, slightly scattering sunlight, in this exaggerated colour image.



‘Saturn's rings light up so much that new rings were discovered, although they are hard to see in the image. Seen in spectacular detail, however, is Saturn's E ring, the ring created by the newly discovered ice-fountains of the moon Enceladus and the outermost ring visible above.’

He also points out that, if you look very carefully, planet Earth can be seen to the left, just above the bright main rings.



The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, one of the largest ever built, was launched in 1997 and has taken thousand of breath-taking photographs, as well as providing some remarkable scientific data.

I n November 2006, for instance, it spied a storm on Saturn that makes Earth’s hurricanes look like gentle summer breezes.

Raging at the planet’s south pole was a storm measuring 5,000 miles across and 43 miles high, with winds peaking at 350mph. Cassini also discovered seven new moons in orbit around Saturn, bringing the total number to 62.

Cassini has spent some of its mission-time analysing Jupiter, too, taking a staggering 26,000 photographs of the giant planet. These led to a far greater understanding of its atmospheric conditions.



The probe’s mission will end when it is sent crashing into the surface of Saturn in 2017, sending back readings as it goes.

Two can play at that game: The Cassini probe isn't the only bit of kit that's taken spectacular photos of Saturn. This one comes courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope, showing its Northern and Southern lights

Cassini's earlier work: This grand mosaic consists of 126 images taken in 2004 and acquired in a tile-like fashion, covering one end of Saturn's rings to the other and the entire planet in between



