Cassini Crossing Saturn's Planet-Ring Gap (April 26, 2017)

Cassini Crossing Saturn's Planet-Ring Gap (April 26, 2017)

This video represents data collected by the Radio and Plasma Wave Science instrument on NASA's Cassini spacecraft, as it crossed through the gap between Saturn and its rings on April 26, 2017, during the first dive of the mission's Grand Finale. The instrument is able to record ring particles striking the spacecraft in its data. In the data from this dive, there is virtually no detectable peak in pops and cracks that represent ring particles striking the spacecraft. The lack of discernible pops and cracks indicates the region is largely free of small particles. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Iowa For more information, visit the news feature at https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6832 and the caption page at https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/pia21446 .