4 ms·

At Saturn's enormous distance, the crescent Earth, with most of North America illuminated by the sun, will span a single pixel and will appear as a pinpoint of

At Saturn's enormous distance, the crescent Earth, with most of North America illuminated by the sun, will span a single pixel and will appear as a pinpoint of light in the depths of space [1, 2]. FYI - The Cassini cameras are 1-megapixel cameras, modes include 1024x1024, 512x512, and 256x256 pixels [3]. I work at an observatory and there was some internal discussion this morning about heading outside to wave. Cool idea, but I don't think you are going to be able to see yourself in the image ;) Times for anyone in the US to head outside: U.S. - Hawaii-Aleutian Stand. Time Fri 11:27 AM 11:27 HAST United States - Alaska Daylight Fri 1:27 PM 13:27 (24/h) AKDT U.S. - Pacific Daylight Time Fri 2:27 PM 14:27 PDT U.S. - Mountain Daylight Time Fri 3:27 PM 15:27 MDT U.S. - Central Daylight Time Fri 4:27 PM 16:27 CDT U.S. - Eastern Daylight Time Fri 5:27 PM 17:27 EDT [1] http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57594419/cassini-spacecraft-set-to-capture-pale-blue-dot-of-earth/ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57594419/cassini-spacecr... [2] http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/2013/06/19/return-to-the-pale-blue-dot/ http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/2013/06/1... [3] http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/FAQRawImages/#q5 http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/FAQRawImages/#q5

Osmium 13y ago
So I've seen some gorgeous images from Cassini, but I could've sworn they're all much higher than 1 megapixel. Do you have any info for how that works?
- WestCoastJustin 13y ago
  I would checkout the FAQ page @ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/ I am not sure how the Cassini imagery works, but for something like Hubble Space Telescope (HST), here is what a raw image [1] looks like of M51 [2]. Typically the images you see from HST of M51 [3] will be a compilation of dozens of raw images using colour filters. [1] http://i.imgur.com/qtQdcBS.jpg http://i.imgur.com/qtQdcBS.jpg [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Messier51_sRGB.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Messier51_sRGB.jpg
  - Osmium 13y ago
    Thanks :) The links are much appreciated! I have to say, purely from an artistic point of view, there's something a lot more dramatic about the raw images than the final one (at least to my eyes). I think it's a combination of the contrast, and the fact that the object is too big to fit in the frame that gives it a sense of scale.
- calebegg 13y ago
  They mention on the page for this (beautiful!) image: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08329 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08329 that it's a combination of 165 images taken over a period of three hours.
- hartror 13y ago
  Megapixels aren't everything not matter what the camera companies tell us.

Osmium 13y ago

So I've seen some gorgeous images from Cassini, but I could've sworn they're all much higher than 1 megapixel. Do you have any info for how that works?

WestCoastJustin 13y ago
I would checkout the FAQ page @ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/ http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/faq/ I am not sure how the Cassini imagery works, but for something like Hubble Space Telescope (HST), here is what a raw image [1] looks like of M51 [2]. Typically the images you see from HST of M51 [3] will be a compilation of dozens of raw images using colour filters. [1] http://i.imgur.com/qtQdcBS.jpg http://i.imgur.com/qtQdcBS.jpg [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Messier51_sRGB.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Messier51_sRGB.jpg
- Osmium 13y ago
  Thanks :) The links are much appreciated! I have to say, purely from an artistic point of view, there's something a lot more dramatic about the raw images than the final one (at least to my eyes). I think it's a combination of the contrast, and the fact that the object is too big to fit in the frame that gives it a sense of scale.
calebegg 13y ago
They mention on the page for this (beautiful!) image: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08329 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08329 that it's a combination of 165 images taken over a period of three hours.
hartror 13y ago
Megapixels aren't everything not matter what the camera companies tell us.