After the Huygens probe successfully parachuted through the thick atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, the Cassini spacecraft is continuing to study Saturn, its rings, Titan, and many of the giant planet's other moons.

Cassini entered orbit around Saturn on June 30, 2004, and is scheduled to study the Saturn system for four years.

The Huygens probe landed on Titan on January 14, 2005. It transmitted about four hours of data about Titan's atmosphere and surface, including about 350 pictures.

We are highlighting some of the mission's most interesting images in this gallery, which is updated frequently.

Changing Map (August 6, 2009)
			This map of Jupiter shows belts and zones of different colors, giant storm systems, and other features in the planet's turbulent atmosphere. The problem with mapping Jupiter, though, is that it has no solid surface, so its features change over scales of days, months, and years. The most prominent feature in this map, compiled from images by the Cassini spacecraft in 2000, is the Great Red Spot, an oval-shaped storm at left center. It is wide enough to swallow Earth. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our August 6 program.

Wide Slice (June 27, 2009)
			A wide slice of Saturn's rings circles the giant planet in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Only Cassini can see the rings from this angle right now because the rings are turned almost edge-on as seen from Earth. Saturn itself is in the upper left corner of the image. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our June 27 program.

Stellar Hide-and-Seek (June 5, 2009)
			Antares, the brightest star of Scorpius, peeks through a gap in the rings of Saturn in this view from the Cassini spacecraft. Scientists watch stars through the rings to help map the structure of the rings. From here on Earth, Antares appears near the almost-full Moon on the nights of June 5 and 5. It shines bright orange, so it is hard to miss even through the Moon's glare. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our June 5 program.

Stormy Skies (January 14, 2009)
			Oval-shaped storms as big as countries drift with the winds in the northern hemisphere of Saturn in this recent image from the Cassini spacecraft. To the eye alone, Saturn looks fairly calm. But Cassini's cameras can peer beneath the haze at the top of its atmosphere to see storms and other features. Saturn's high-speed rotation creates bands of clouds that stretch all the way around the planet. Strong winds separate the bands. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our January 14 program.

Unruly Flock (December 17, 2008)
			Saturn's rings curve gracefully around the giant planet in this view from the Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting Saturn. The rings span almost a quarter-million miles, yet are only a few yards thick. The thousands of individual rings are held in check by the gravity of small moons, known as shepherds, that orbit between the rings. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our December 17 program.

Paying a Call (December 3, 2008)
			Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, passes in front of the giant planet in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Saturn's rings, seen edge-on by the orbiter, form a dark line just above Titan. Cassini is scheduled to pass about 600 miles (950 km) from Titan on December 4. Titan has a thick atmosphere that is topped by an orange smog-like haze of organic chemicals. Cassini's instruments can look through the haze to see the moon's surface, which includes lakes of liquid methane and giant dunes of grains of frozen methane. [NASA/JPL/SSI]

Saturnian Shower (October 24, 2008)
			Geysers of water spray into space from the south pole of Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn, in this recent view from the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini flew through the plume in early October. The water squirts from cracks in Enceladus' icy surface. It freezes as it flies into space. Some of the ice particles renew one of Saturn's outer rings. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our October 24 program.

Into the Shadow (September 1, 2008)
			Rhea, one of the icy moons of Saturn, passes into the giant planet's shadow in a sequence of images snapped August 19 by the Cassini spacecraft. The first image shows Rhea before the eclipse begins, with the line between day and night at top. Large impact craters and cracks scar the surface, which is made primarily of frozen water. The shadow then slowly covers all but Rhea's north polar region. The last two images used longer exposure times to bring out more details in the eclipsed region. Cassini was about 280,000 miles (450,000 km) from Rhea. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see the full slideshow.

Wrinkled Skin (August 13, 2008)
			Wide, deep cracks radiate along the icy surface of Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn, in this August 11 image from the Cassini spacecraft. Liquid water squirts into space through the cracks, where temperatures are much warmer than the surrounding ice. Cassini snapped this image from a distance of about 3,000 miles (4,800 km). [NASA/JPL/SSI]

A New Beginning (July 1, 2008)
			Bands and swirls of clouds highlight Saturn's northern hemisphere in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini, which arrived at Saturn in 2004, concluded its primary mission on June 30, and is embarking on a two-year extended mission. The extra time will allow it to map more of the moon Titan, which has a thick atmosphere rich in organic compounds, and fly through plumes of water jetting from the south pole of the moon Enceladus. The dark bands at the bottom of this image are the shadows of Saturn's rings, while the small black dot near the top of the planet is the shadow of the moon Mimas. [NASA/JPL/SSI]

Titanic Energy (May 11, 2008)
			A lake of liquid methane glistens beneath the orange sky of Titan in this artist's concept. The big moon of Saturn appears to have many large lakes of liquid hydrocarbons, as well as giant dunes made of grains of hydrocarbon ice. The energy content of these compounds far exceeds the known hydrocarbon energy reserves on Earth, according to researchers who have studied readings from the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft. [Steve Hobbs] For more information, see our May 11 program.

Drizzly Skies (April 17, 2008)
			A swoosh of clouds slashes across the northern hemisphere of Saturn's moon Titan in this 2008 image from the Cassini spacecraft. The clouds are at the top center of the picture. Researchers say that a steady drizzle of liquid hydrocarbons may soak much of Titan. Flowing liquids appear to carve rivers on Titan, filling large lakes. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our April 17 program.

Ribbons and Bows (April 15, 2008)
			A colorful "rainbow" shimmers across the ribbon-like rings of Saturn in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Although this rainbow is an artifact of the way the picture was acquired, a trip to Saturn's rings might offer views of real rainbows, plus many other beautiful and colorful sights. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our April 15 program.

Flip Side (March 17, 2008)
			Craters, cracks, and wrinkles highlight this March 12 view of the north polar region of Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn. The Cassini spacecraft was headed toward a close pass by the moon's south pole when it snapped this view, which was compiled from three images. The two large, overlapping craters near the center are Ali Baba and Aladdin. The wrinkled terrain at right is fairly young. Long cracks also snake across the moon's icy surface. [NASA/JPL/SSI]

Cold Shower (March 11, 2008)
			Water vapor streams into space from the south pole of Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn, in this October 2007 image from the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini will fly just above the moon's south pole on March 12, providing the best view to date of the source of the water plumes: cracks in Enceladus' icy crust. Cassini may briefly pass through the plume of water vapor, which freezes in the cold of space. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our March 11 program.

Saturnian Tableau (January 24, 2008)
			Saturn's smog-encircled moon Titan hovers behind the planet's rings in this recent image from the Cassini spacecraft. The smaller moon Epimetheus is just above Titan. Using radar and other instruments, Cassini has peered through Titan's thick atmosphere and discovered that hundreds of lakes dot the regions around its north and south poles. The lakes probably are filled with liquid methane. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our January 24 program.

Close Encounter (September 11, 2007)
			Countless impact craters scar the icy surface of Iapetus, one of the moons of Saturn, in this September 10 image from the Cassini spacecraft. This image was snapped at a distance of just more than 800 miles (1,300 km) during Cassini's closest approach to Iapetus to date. [NASA/JPL/SSI]

Walnut Moon (September 9, 2007)
			Iapetus, a moon of Saturn, looks like a walnut in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. A tall, sharp mountain ridge traces the moon's equator, providing the walnut appearance. One side of ice is as white as snow (at the top of the picture), while the other is almost as dark as charcoal. Cassini will fly close to Iapetus on September 10. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our September 9 program.

Saturnian Double Feature (August 28, 2007)
			Saturn's moons Titan (background) and Rhea line up in this view from the Cassini spacecraft. Although they look close together, the two satellites were actually more than one million miles apart when the picture was shot. Cassini will fly about 3,500 miles from Rhea on the night of August 29, and about 2,000 miles from Titan just 30 hours later. Rhea, Saturn's second-largest moon, is a ball of ice and rock. Much larger Titan has a thick, cold atmosphere. Sunlight scattering through the atmosphere creates the bright ring effect in this image.[NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our August 28 program.

Those Pesky (But Beautiful) Rings (June 11, 2007)
			A false-color image from the Cassini spacecraft shows Saturn's glorious rings. The colors indicate how much material is contained in each ring, including the size of the ring particles. Cassini is passing close to the outer rim of the rings, and will use its main radio antenna as a shield to protect it from possible collisions. [NASA/JPL/Univ. Colorado] For more information, see our June 11 program.

Squashed Planet (May 21, 2007)
			Saturn's rings look blue in this recent infrared image from the Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn for almost three years. Big storm systems and bands of clouds highlight the planet itself. Because it is a big ball of gas that rotates quickly, Saturn is a bit flattened. It is about 10 percent larger through the equator than the poles. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our May 21 program.

Boxing in the Pole (March 30, 2007)
			A six-sided box of clouds surrounds Saturn's north pole in this image from the Cassini spacecraft. Cassini used an infrared instrument to view the polar region, which is in the shadow of Saturn's nightside, and will remain dark for about two more years. Another craft first saw the hexagonal structure a quarter-century ago, and the Cassini view shows that it is a long-term phenomenon in Saturn's clouds. The Cassini images also probe much deeper -- almost 50 miles (75 km) down into Saturn's clouds. So far, scientists have no explanation for the unusual feature, which spans about 15,000 miles (25,000 km). [NASA/JPL/Univ. Arizona]

From Sea to Shining Sea (March 23, 2007)
			The Cassini spacecraft has discovered a possible sea (left) that is as large as Lake Superior on the surface of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. Cassini's radar, which penetrates a layer of haze atop Titan's atmosphere, had found several possible lakes during earlier encounters with Titan. It discovered this feature, which covers about 39,000 square miles, during its most recent flyby, in February. In Titan's extreme cold, its seas and lakes probably are filled with liquid methane. [NASA/JPL]

Saturn's Glorious Rings (March 2, 2007)
			Saturn and its glorious rings spread out below the Cassini spacecraft in this recent view. The craft looped high above and below the planet on its most recent orbit, providing the highest-angle views of the planet ever seen. Saturn itself is overexposed in the image to show details in the ring system. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our March 1 program.

Abstract Planet (February 2, 2007)
			Spiral storm systems, global cloud bands, and other subtle features shine through in this false-color infrared image of Saturn from the Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting the giant planet. A portion of Saturn's rings show up in blue at lower right. Each storm system spans hundreds of miles in the image, which was taken January 19, with Cassini about 300,000 miles (500,000 km) from Saturn. The planet appears quite close to the Moon for the first few nights of February and looks like a bright golden star. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our February 2 program.