ever since i took part in an astronomy olympiad, i’ve taken and larger interest to the field and have been consuming a good amount of space media, especially the videos made by astrum on youtube, their work is great.
one of the things that has been sitting in my mind is how close we’ve gotten to every planet in the solar system, along with its satellite(s), and even some objects beyond that point.
cassini is one of my favorite probe out of all the others, for the amount of visuals that it has sent to earth, and for its dramatic crash towards saturn’s atmosphere. it has went through such great lengths to become saturn’ lone inhabitor in the end.
about saturn, a gas giant encircled by its layers of rings, it’s just great to look at. it’s fascinating the way sunlight shines and reflects off saturn’s surface (if you could call it that) as to showcase its behemoth size and roundness, this doesn’t just apply to saturn but other planetary objects as well. the shadows visible on its surface reminds me of everyday objects found in earth, there is a sense of familiarity, like you’ve been there before.
just one more thing i wanted to mention. the rings of saturn when seen up close, reveals satellites (or moons, a simpler way to say it) that occasionally appear between the rings, obstructing the small rocks to make a path for itself. the first thing that came to thought for me when i saw the photo of daphnus (one of the moons) is a runner on a track, passing by on its casual 0.6 day-long loop around the plant, it’s fun to think that the satellite is carrying some sort of mission, still going for reasons that we may never know.
the desolate space is such a wonder for us.
