APOD: 2020 April 19 - Cassini Approaches Saturn

Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Cassini Approaches Saturn." Launched in 1997, Cassini was active in space for nearly 20 years, entering Saturn orbit on July 1, 2004. The voyage to Saturn included flybys of Venus (April 1998 and July 1999), Earth (August 1999), the asteroid 2685 Masursky, and Jupiter (December 2000). The Cassini mission ended in September 2017 with a controlled burn-up in Saturn's atmosphere.

This 2:32 video clip provides a nice summary of how imaging technology evolved over the course of the Cassini mission. It begins with 2K/black and white, 4K/16-color (0:30), and ends with 5.6K/32-color IMAX quality (0:47). As the video progresses, the shadows you see on Saturn's surface are cast from its rings as they block out sunlight.