Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2019 October 12

                            Interplanetary Earth
    Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA & NASA/JHU Applied Physics
                        Lab/Carnegie Inst. Washington

   Explanation: In an interplanetary first, on July 19, 2013 Earth was
   photographed on the same day from two other worlds of the Solar System,
   innermost planet Mercury and ringed gas giant Saturn. Pictured on the
   left, Earth is the pale blue dot just below the rings of Saturn, as
   captured by the robotic Cassini spacecraft then orbiting the outermost
   gas giant. On that same day people across planet Earth snapped many of
   their own of their own pictures of Saturn. On the right, the Earth-Moon
   system is seen against the dark background of space as captured by the
   robotic MESSENGER spacecraft, then in Mercury orbit. MESSENGER took its
   image as part of a search for small natural satellites of Mercury,
   moons that would be expected to be quite dim. In the MESSENGER image,
   the Earth (left) and Moon (right) are overexposed and shine brightly
   with reflected sunlight. Destined not to return to their home world,
   both Cassini and Messenger have since retired from their missions of
   Solar System exploration.

                  Tomorrow's picture: a jewel box of stars
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

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