Goodbye to the dark side. Stunning views like this image of Saturn’s night side are only possible thanks to our robotic emissaries like the Cassini spacecraft. The Cassini mission ended its 13 year journey at Saturn on Sept. 15 with a fateful dive into the planet’s atmosphere. Until future missions are sent to the ringed planet, Cassini’s image-rich legacy must suffice. Because Earth is closer to the Sun than Saturn, observers on Earth only see Saturn’s day side. With spacecraft, we can capture views – and data – that are simply not possible from Earth, even with the largest telescopes. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute #nasa #space #saturn #cassini #spacecraft #grandfinale #mission #rings #dark #darkside #sun #earth #planets #solarsystem #astronomy #telescope #observe #science #picoftheday