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all 77 comments

[–]christhemost 62 points63 points ago

This is so beautiful it doesn't even look real.

[–]Harmless_Overdose 15 points16 points ago

I have trouble believing it too! Amazing shot

[–]cormega 13 points14 points ago

Is this really not a render??

[–]rhoffman12 13 points14 points ago

This was taken by the Cassini probe as it passed directly behind Saturn. NASA APoD link

[–]cormega 4 points5 points ago

How is the ring so perfect looking?

[–]rhoffman12 16 points17 points ago

The rings are very round. Also, Cassini probably took several pictures, and this is the one that was lined up most perfectly. Bonus: the blue dot in the upper left quadrant, just outside the brightest rings, is Earth.

[–]schwartzchild76 4 points5 points ago

I gota ask. How do you know this?

[–]Frencil 4 points5 points ago

I'm a former image processor for the Cassini imaging team and helped work on this image. If I recall it was something like 165 different observations. It's not that this was the one that looked best - rather that this is all of them combined.

[–]pntless 10 points11 points ago

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/dotf-20061101.html

Edit: Although it is a quote referencing a different picture, that taken by Voyager 1, this is a good time for my favorite Sagan quote...

From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known, so far, to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

—Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space, 1997 reprint, pp. xv–xvi

Source for Quote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Blue_Dot

[–]GREEN_FUCKING_ALIENS -1 points0 points ago

That's..that's beautiful ......

[–]surlycanon 1 point2 points ago

I don't know about him, but Neil deGrasse Tyson points it out in his lecture. Source: saw NdGT last week in Nashville.

[–]cormega 3 points4 points ago

That's so cool.

[–]zgardner44 1 point2 points ago

The rings are so perfect looking due to the light reflecting around Saturn. Because the Sun is directly behind Saturn, the light reflects off of the parts of the rings that are lit up, and it completes the circle. Kind of like the effect that goes into our view of the Horseshoe Galaxy. Also, because of the way the rings are reflected like this, if you were to be on the most northern point of Saturn, and look directly up, you would see the rings in the nighttime sky.

[–]Harmless_Overdose 2 points3 points ago

Unfortunately I don't have the slightest clue about how pictures like this are developed/made, I didn't mean to doubt it's authenticity it was a more "That's unbelievably amazing" rather than a "I don't think this is genuine" statement

[–]rogue_ger 2 points3 points ago

it's real! i saw this a few years ago, and i had trouble believing it at first too, it's so beautiful. people below have verification links.

[–]QualityEnforcer 40 points41 points ago

Higher-resolution version 3,732 kB (11,525 x 5,683) 494%

deevu [OP] may directly remove this comment by clicking here.

[–]deevu[S] 8 points9 points ago

I actually used that pic to upload to imgur. It downsized it. The side bar said to use appropriate image host sites so I just used it to be safe! Thanks for sharing the original!

[–]Alpacalex 1 point2 points ago

The sidebar states that any .edu domain is allowed, so the Stanford link would have been fine ;). To the mods I'd say, leave it up, people deserve to see this beautiful image.

[–]liverb 17 points18 points ago

I've heard that the dot in the upper left of Saturn's ring is Earth.

[–]NotPear 9 points10 points ago

It sure is. To clarify for others: it's the one right outside the brightest rings.

This picture was my desktop background for a year. It really is weird that such a tiny speck of dust means more to me than all the other planets and stars in the billions of galaxies in the universe combined. I care more about the century I will live than all the other centuries that ever was and ever will be. I love myself and my companions in life more than all the creatures in all of the galaxies in all of cosmos combined.

I then realize that I oughta get my priorities straight. I won't. My mind cannot room such thoughts and my life is too short to make a difference.

And after all that, I found my truth. What matters to me is Earth. Earth is the only place where my actions will have an impact. Earth is were everyone I love lives, and I know that there are a lot of great people worth protecting. Staring at stars will amount to nothing.

[–]yjtry 3 points4 points ago

Except that realization?

[–]NotPear 0 points1 point ago

Haha, yes. But that realization wouldn't be necessary if I hadn't looked at the stars in the first place.

[–]EkezEtomer 0 points1 point ago

Blowing my mind

[–]BritishCuntDesert 3 points4 points ago

How is the Earth so bright?

[–]nuviremus 2 points3 points ago

A large Albedo number up to .6.

[–]NetNGames 0 points1 point ago

Most likely due to the Earth being mostly covered in water in addition to the white ice caps that reflect the sun's light.

[–]MoarVespenegas 1 point2 points ago

Clouds mostly.

[–]Auggie88 1 point2 points ago

I can't be sure, but I think I remember hearing the the tiny dot to the top-left of Earth is actually the moon. I may be tricking myself, but I think I see something there in the higher-resolution image.

[–]madplayshd 21 points22 points ago

Guys, I just realized that

WE ARE STUCK ON EARTH FOR MOST LIKELY EVER.

[–]MatterStorm 6 points7 points ago

Well if I can ever get the money, I plan on taking a trip as far away from earth as possible. Maybe I would only be able to do one of those zero-g flights, but we have the capability and I only have one life so I will do that.

Also, it's not unlikely that we will put a human on another planet within the next 100 years.

[–]Tehjaliz 3 points4 points ago

We're already getting some robotic implants for limb. Give us 20 - 30 more years, we'll be able to greatly extend our lifespans by replacing most organs with implants... And then, we'll be able to go explore the galaxy! ... One can hope, right guys? Guys?

[–]madplayshd 2 points3 points ago

Yeah, I dont trust raymond kurzweil on this.

[–]GreyDay 0 points1 point ago

How come?

[–]rogue_ger 0 points1 point ago

unless we all start getting politically active to support space exploration and technology development! who's with me! let's write to our congressmen now!

[–]jburke6000 10 points11 points ago

WOW! What a trip. NASA rules. I love my tax money being spent there.

[–]smileymalaise 4 points5 points ago

I went to comments to say how much I thought this couldn't be a real picture, because it's too goddamn beautiful.

But I'm getting the idea that this might be real.

All I know for sure is that this is fucking incredible.

[–]rhoffman12 0 points1 point ago

This was taken by the Cassini probe as it passed directly behind Saturn. NASA APoD link

[–]smileymalaise 0 points1 point ago

I'm sure it is.

But the planet outline looks completely photoshopped.

Even though science shows this photo to be fact, my brain wants to continuously scream "NO FUCKING WAY!"

[–]Burf-_- 1 point2 points ago

when you consider the advanced photography techniques and camera's and robotics that go into the Cassini probe you might think twice about that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens

[–]smileymalaise 1 point2 points ago

I already know about it.

It's still amazing!

[–]Burf-_- 1 point2 points ago

amazing yes... i agree, but not shrouded in mystery.

[–]vaposlocos 0 points1 point ago

The Colors have been exaggerated, but even the unedited version is beautiful.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08329

[–]deevu[S] 4 points5 points ago

Learned of this glorious image thanks to the wonderful 8 part documentary "How the Universe Works." I definitely recommend people take a gander at it.

[–]PoiLaLuce 4 points5 points ago

On the left hand side, just past the second ring there's a little blue speck.

That's you and everyone who's ever lived, everyone you've EVER heard of.

Yup, that's the Earth. Try and feel important now...

[–]SchroedingersSphere 6 points7 points ago

Nice try, Carl Sagan...

[–]alok99 0 points1 point ago

I went to see Neil deGrasse Tyson less than a week ago, and he showed this very image in his presentation, and even pointed out Earth as the tiny little dot. You'd expect nothing less from Sagan's student!

[–]psychohistorian3 3 points4 points ago

Why aren't there more stars visible?

[–]ndrew452 13 points14 points ago

Because the main image taken (Saturn eclipsing the sun) is too bright to allow stars to show up on the image. If you wanted to see stars, you would have to increase the exposure time which as a result would make Saturn look like a big white circle void of any features.

[–]autumnsolstice 4 points5 points ago

I'm crying, this is so beautiful.

[–]N3PHxx 2 points3 points ago

This is so stunning, almost atomic in appearance yet so vast, distant and alien. Love it.

[–]TelegraphSexOperator 0 points1 point ago

This is amazing. Aiming the cameras aboard satellites can permanently damage the cameras.

[–]thurmco 1 point2 points ago

I'm a sucker for eclipses.

[–]WorkerNumber47 0 points1 point ago

Oh heavenly body!

[–]LaziestManAlive 1 point2 points ago

This is a repost, but it's so gorgeous that I don't care, everyone needs to see it.

[–]deevu[S] 2 points3 points ago

I didn't mean to be that guy... :( just came across it and did not even think twice to search. I was in awe by it.

[–]pntless 0 points1 point ago

No apology needed, imo. If this image were reposted daily, I may never get tired of it.

It has been my wallpaper since I first saw it.

[–]purpledawn 0 points1 point ago

I've seen it once before I was even on reddit, and posted once on reddit before this. But I don't care, I always look at it every time because its just so amazing and beautiful.

[–]JPSpiller 0 points1 point ago

Dear r/spaceporn, please stop posting beautiful pictures like these. I end up changing my background every 10 minutes.

[–]girf_the_troll 0 points1 point ago

The universe is so beautiful. It is a shame that most people don't appreciate it like we of this sub do.

[–]yjtry 0 points1 point ago

So, now i have to organize my desktop to be worthy of this image.

[–]Tbone139 1 point2 points ago

There's so much to take in it's overwhelming! The outer rings normally invisible when not basked in eclipse light, the chromatic upper atmosphere and its contours in the ring's shadows, the rings themselves being shadowed against space where the planet hides the sun from them, the Sun's highlight where it threatens to destroy the phenomenon....

I feel privileged being able to look up at the night sky and knowing there's more to it than a blotch with featureless specks of light.

[–]Mellowde -1 points0 points ago

What is Cassini?

[–]egggoboom 0 points1 point ago

Amazing. My new wallpaper. Thanks for sharing!

[–]ruuustin 0 points1 point ago

This was in Neil deGrasse Tyson's lecture at Vanderbilt last week. That little dot in the upper left of the rings (still inside the "aura") is Earth.

[–]ShiversLovesGod 0 points1 point ago

WOW!

[–]morphinapg 0 points1 point ago

All that indirect lighting is so awesome

[–]GuzTathums 0 points1 point ago

It's stupid how easily an image of a world that I'll never be able to visit can reduce me to tears.

[–]drchaz 0 points1 point ago

Amazing. I was ready to downvote for being fake until I saw the APoD link.

[–]K3TtLek0Rn 0 points1 point ago

This has been my wallpaper on my phone for a year or so. If no one has mentioned it yet, that small white dot in the upper left part of the rings is Earth.

[–]smartsingh -2 points-1 points ago

The only thing I can think of when I see this is "shemale vids"