“Spectacular Saturn: Images from the Cassini-Huygens Mission” offers a mesmerizing photographic retreat within the typically flashy and crowded National Air and Space Museum. Quite literally tucked away at the end of the second floor corridor, this modest exhibit displays 60 varied images of Saturn and its moons taken since the Cassini spacecraft entered the planet’s orbit in 2004.
The images were captured using a number of different light filters, ranging from ultraviolet to nearly infrared, and often take on a surreal quality. Several are rendered in dramatic false colors—to striking effect—to assist scientists in mapping variations in surface contour.
Though the photographs are as compositionally interesting as anything you’d find in an art gallery, they also demonstrate the scientific significance of the Cassini mission. Among the objects of investigation are the eerily Earth-like moon Titan and Saturn’s famed rings. Capturing the volatility of the gaseous giant, the exhibit is a reminder of the evolutionary comforts of our mild planet.
Once you’re finished ruminating on your own cosmic insignificance, mosey over to the flight simulator, push some children out of the way, and embark on your own space adventure. Shutter shades not included.
The exhibit is on display at the National Air and Space Museum through May 15, 2009.
