Where In The Universe Challenge #121

By Nancy Atkinson - October 6, 2010 at 7:32 AM UTC | Extragalactic
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It's time once again for another Where In The Universe Challenge. This awesome image was sent in by UT reader

Paul Nadolny

. Name where in the Universe this image was taken and give yourself extra points if you can name exactly what all the different objects are in the image, as well as what instrument is responsible. Post your guesses in the comments section, and check back on later at this same post to find the answer. To make this challenge fun for everyone, please don't include links or extensive explanations with your answer. Good luck!

UPDATE: The answer has now been posted below.

You all are pretty sharp! Paul and I both thought looked like a star hovering over Earth's limb. But actually, this is Saturn's limb, with the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, hanging above the horizon. Both Alpha Centauri A and B—stars very similar to our own—are clearly distinguishable in this image, which was taken by the Cassini spacecraft.

This image is part of a stellar occultation sequence, during which Cassini watches as a star (or stars) as it passes behind Saturn. Light from the stars is attenuated by the uppermost reaches of Saturn's gaseous envelope, revealing information about the structure and composition of the planet's atmosphere.

The view was captured from about 66 degrees above the ringplane and faces southward on Saturn. Ring shadows mask the planet's northern latitudes at bottom.

Thanks again to Paul Nadolny for submitting this image. If you have an image you'd like to submit to try and stump everyone, send an

email to Nancy.

See this JPL Photojournal page for more information.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com