Infrared radiometer image of Saturn and its rings. Brightness in the image is related to temperature, with the brightest areas at about 100 K (about -280°F). The left version shows contrast in the colder regions (the rings). The right version shows contrast in the warmer regions (the planet). The image contains many separate scans from top to bottom. Each scan is displaced to the right from the one before by the motion of the spacecraft. The spacecraft was below the ring plane during most of the 3-hour observation period and was much closer to the planet at the end of the period (right of image) than at the start (left of image). Thus, the images are quite distorted. The small-scale pattern is instrument noise. In the left image, the warm infrared radiation from the planet is seen through Cassini’s Division between the A- and B-rings. The brightness level in the right image implies that Saturn emits heat at a rate that is 2.5 times the rate that it absorbs energy from the sun.
OUTWARD BOUND
After increasing our knowledge of the Saturnian system manyfold, the spacecraft is now outward bound. It carries a message, engraved on a plaque, from Earth to any inhabitants of another star system who might discover the spacecraft. With its journey far from over, Pioneer Saturn travels on—to the outer reaches of space.
The Pioneer Project is managed by the Ames Research Center for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The spacecraft was built by TRW Systems, Redondo Beach, California.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California 94035