This incredible, high resolution view of Saturn's moon Dione was taken during Cassini's first close approach to the icy moon on Dec. 14, 2004. The view shows linear, curving features within the region of the bright wispy terrain Dione is known for.
The image was obtained in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow angle camera at a distance of approximately 156,000 kilometers (97,000 miles) from Dione. The Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle is 34 degrees. The image scale is about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.
For more information, about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit, http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page, http://ciclops.org.