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Crescent moon Rhea occults crescent Saturn

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January 12, 2015

Crescent moon Rhea occults - or passes in front of - a crescent Saturn, as seen by the orbiting Cassini spacecraft. Image via Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA. — Crescent moon Rhea occults – or passes in front of – a crescent Saturn, as seen by the orbiting Cassini spacecraft. Image via Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA.

Looking nearly back toward the sun, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn captured crescent phases of Saturn and its moon Rhea in color a few years ago. Since Cassini was nearly in the plane of Saturn’s rings, the normally impressive rings are visible here only as a thin line across the image center.

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Deborah Byrd

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Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.