NASA has released a video consisting of over 60 photos taken by the Cassini spacecraft during its 13-year mission to Saturn and features the planet performing a “ballet” set to the famous Russian ballet music.
The clip called “Saturn Moon Ballet” and posted on NASA’s official Twitter account, is divided into five acts, with the first one, called “Moon Jumble,” depicting four of Saturn’s moons – Rhea, Janus, Mimas and Pandora. The second dubbed “Moons in Motion” shows Prometheus, Tethys and Pandora moving swiftly along the planet’s rings. The third act, “Before a Veiled Rhea,” shows the smallest moon in the solar system Mimas, passing in front of Saturn’s second-largest moon – Rhea. Janus is the only moon seen in the fourth act, respectively called “Ring Shadows on Janus” as the planet’s rings cast shadows on the smaller moons. The final act, “Catching Big Sister,” features both Janus and Rhea gliding in the same direction.
This spin on the Nutcracker Suite features the moons of Saturn! Sit back and watch as they majestically dance around the ringed planet: https://t.co/itvoJoAfKO The movie clips are a compilation of ~61 pics taken by @CassiniSaturn, which ended its mission Sept. 15. pic.twitter.com/5sAOfE6tBD
— NASA (@NASA) 25 декабря 2017 г.
The Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on September 15, 2017, when it vanished into the ringed planet.
