APOD: 2026 August 23 – Cassini Approaches Saturn

NASA Science reports that the Astronomy Picture of the Day released on Sunday features a stunning video of the Cassini spacecraft as it approaches Saturn. The clip shows the ringed planet growing larger, Titan sweeping below, the cratered moon Mimas with Herschel Crater, and finally the icy moon Enceladus before the sequence ends. Cassini, a joint NASA‑ESA mission that studied Saturn from two thousand four until two thousand seventeen, ran low on fuel and was deliberately sent into Saturn’s atmosphere, where it presumably melted. The video is part of the larger IMAX project titled In Saturn’s Rings.

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