The Last Image

STEM
Environmental and Science Education
Miscellaneous
Edward Hessler

Cassini's final image before it was shut down after literally slamming in Saturn's atmosphere. It was moving at 113000 km/hour (70,000 mph) when it hit Saturn's atmosphere. It took 83 minutes for it reach the Deep Space Network antenna in Canberra, Australia.

The image is from Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for September 16, 2016 which means you will have to go to the archives if you don't view it today.

This achievement is stunning and Cassini seems to have been a bit of an over-achiever. There are many to thank who made all this possible, including each of us in a very small way through our financial support of NASA.

The Cassini orbiter owes its name to the discoverer of Saturn's ring divisions and four of its moons.