APOD 4.2

April 5 2015
Saturn, Tethys, Rings, and Shadows

This picture appealed to me because it is simple yet mysterious. This picture contains saturn and its rings along with tethys, one of saturn's moons. The dark colors used in the picture envoke a sense of mystery as well as a sense of simplicity. The comments underneath the picture state that if we could be on Saturn's ice moon Tethys, we would be able to see amazing views of Saturn's rings. This picture is sent to us from the Cassini spacecraft. The comments state that the moon is only about 1000 km and orbits a large distance, almost five saturn-radii from the center of Saturn. This distance means it is well outside of Saturn's main bright rings. The comments end by stating that Tethys was found at the same time as Telesto and Calypso, and that Telesto precedes and Calypso follows Tethys as the trio circles Saturn.