NASA's Cassini spacecraft has successfully completed its flyby over Saturn, the Moon Tethys, the Moon Dione, and the so-called "tiger stripes" , linear protrusions located in the south pole region of Enceladus, another of Saturn's moons. . The images sent by the probe after this mission reveal contrasts of light and darkness "worthy of painters like the master of chiaroscuro Caravaggio."
Enceladus' "tiger stripes" are actually giant fissures that spew jets of water vapor and hundreds of organic particles miles up into space. Cassini was also able to obtain a portrait of Enceladus in the bright arc of Saturn's atmosphere.
The flyby on August 13 was aimed at Enceladus, the geyser moon, but also included a close pass by Cassini to two other moons: Tethys and Dione. Raw images received include the best to date of Penelope crater on the icy moon Tethys , taken on August 14. Penelope is no less than 150 kilometers wide and is the second largest crater in Tethys. For its part, Dione's images highlight a rugged lunar surface full of impacts.
All images can be consulted in an extensive database that NASA has published here: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/
