Crescent Rhea Occults Crescent Saturn

Soft hues, partially lit orbs, a thin trace of the ring, and slight shadows highlight
this understated view of the majestic surroundings of the giant planet Saturn. Looking
nearly back toward the Sun, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn captured
crescent phases of Saturn and its moon Rhea in color a few months ago. As striking
as the above image is, it is but a single frame from a recently released 60-frame
silent movie where Rhea can be seen gliding in front of its parent world. Since Cassini
was nearly in the plane of Saturn's rings, the normally impressive rings are visible
here only as a thin line across the image center. Cassini has now passed the official
half-way mark of its mission around Saturn, but is well situated to complete another
two years investigating this complex and surprising system.