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.

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.

Bejeweled Planet (January 5, 2007)
			Saturn, which is already known for its beautiful rings, shows off more jewelry in this infrared image from the orbiting Cassini spacecraft: a string of pearls. The pearls, which look like a row of small white dots from left to right near the middle of the picture, are holes in the top layers of the planet's thick clouds. They appear brighter in this image because they allow more of the planet's interior heat to escape into space. Each "pearl" is several hundred miles in diameter, and the pearls are spaced almost 2,000 miles apart. They were first seen in 2005, and Cassini continues to study them. [Credit: NASA/JPL/Univ. Arizona] For more information, see our January 5 program.

Saturnian Swirl (December 8, 2006)
			Storm clouds swirl around a deep "eye" at the south pole of Saturn in this image from the Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting Saturn. The top clouds in the image are 20 to 45 miles (30 to 75 km) above the clouds at the bottom of the eye. The clouds whirl around the eye at several hundred miles per hour. Unlike hurricanes on Earth, this storm remains fixed at the same location, above Saturn's south pole. [NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our December 8 program.

Rings, Rings, and More Rings (October 12, 2006)
			Saturn's beautiful rings -- including some faint rings never seen before -- show off in this recent view from the Cassini spacecraft. In the image, the Sun is behind Saturn, so we see the planet's nightside. Sunlight reflecting from the rings lights up the nightside, and some of the reflected glow illuminates the part of the rings in Saturn's shadow. Several broad, faint rings are visible outside the well-known brighter ones. These rings consist of tiny particles of dust, which are about the size of smoke particles. Some of the rings are fed by recently discovered moons. As meteoroids hit the moons, they blast particles into space. The particles spread out to form rings around Saturn. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI]

Longer Days? (September 17, 2006)
			A day on the planet Saturn, shown as a golden crescent in this view from the Cassini spacecraft, may be a few minutes longer than scientists have thought. Cassini observations show that Saturn's "day" is about eight minutes longer than shown by earlier space- and ground-based measurements. Saturn's rings form a thin horizontal line across the middle of the picture, and they cast dark shadows over the planet's northern hemisphere. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our September 17 program.

Half-Way Point (July 3, 2006)
			The Cassini spacecraft celebrated the half-way mark of its four-year mission to Saturn on Sunday by staging its 16th close encounter with Titan, the planet's largest moon. As shown in this earlier Cassini image, Titan (with the smaller moon Enceladus passing in front of it) is surrounded by a thick atmosphere that is topped by a layer of orange 'smog.' Cassini and the Huygens probe, which landed on Titan last year, have found giant sand dunes, a possible lake of liquid methane, and a possible ice volcano on the big moon. They also discovered what look like dry riverbeds, gullies that may have been carved by rainstorms, and other Earth-like features on the cold moon. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI]

Seeing Yellow (June 3, 2006)
			Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is partially hidden by the planet's rings in this recent view from the Cassini orbiter. The craft was viewing the rings almost edge-on, so they appear as a thin sheet. Titan, which was on the opposite side of the rings from Cassini, appears both yellow and fuzzy because it's surrounded by a thick, cold atmosphere topped by an organic haze similar to smog. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI]

Subtle Beauty (May 11, 2006)
			Saturn shines in soft shades of gold and blue in this recent image from the Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting the giant planet for almost two years. Saturn's rings, which Cassini was viewing edge-on, are a bright horizontal stripe across the center of the picture. The small moon Enceladus is a round "bump" just to the right of the centerpoint in the rings. The rings cast dark shadows across the top part of Saturn. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI]

Saturnian Pas de Deux (May 3, 2006)
			This color-enhanced image from the Cassini spacecraft shows that Epimetheus, one of the small moons of Saturn, is a dead world pockmarked by impact craters. Its claim to fame is that about every five years, it changes orbits with Janus, another moon. The last switch took place earlier this year. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see our May 3 program.

Just Passing By (March 30, 2006)
			Saturn's largest moon, Titan, passes behind the planet's delicate rings in this recent sequence of images from the Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting Saturn. A second moon, Janus, is in the middle of the images. This small moon orbits inside the rings, where its gravity helps keep the ring particles in line. The images are backlit by the Sun, which is why Titan appears as a bright ring; its thick atmosphere "bends" the sunlight around, making the moon appear to glow. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI] For more information, see the full slide show.

Ring Skipping (March 16, 2006)
			Enceladus, one of the moons of Saturn, appears to hover just above the planet's rings in this recent image from the Cassini spacecraft, which is orbiting Saturn. Cassini has discovered that liquid water is shooting into space from cracks in the icy surface of Enceladus. As the water escapes it freezes, adding fresh ice to some of the rings. In this image, the rings are the wide line just below the small moon. Saturn forms the mustard-colored background, with its nightside at far right. The dark curved lines at top left are shadows cast by the rings. [Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI]