The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topic
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured
Saturn on 22 May 1995 as the planet's magnificent ring system
turned edge-on. This ring-plane crossing occurs approximately
every 15 years when the Earth passes through Saturn's ring plane.
For comparison, the top picture was taken by Hubble on
1 December 1994 and shows the rings in a more familiar
configuration for Earth observers.
The bottom picture was taken shortly before the ring plane
crossing. The rings do not disappear completely because
the edge of the rings reflects sunlight. The dark band across
the middle of Saturn is the shadow of the rings cast on the
planet (the Sun is almost 3 degrees above the ring plane.)
The bright stripe directly above the ring shadow is caused
by sunlight reflected off the rings onto Saturn's atmosphere.
Two of Saturn's icy moons are visible as tiny starlike objects
in or near the ring plane. They are, from left to right, Tethys
(slightly above the ring plane) and Dione.