NASA Cassini spacecraft photographed Saturn, seven of its moons, its inner rings and the Earth in a single picture formed by 323 mosaics during a four hours of "photography session" on July 19, 2013.
The result is an amazing panoramic view of Saturn as Cassini was 1.2 million kilometers from it panning and tilting picture after picture one after another.
"With the sun's powerful and potentially damaging rays eclipsed by Saturn itself, Cassini's onboard cameras were able to take advantage of this unique viewing geometry," Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory For Operations CICLOPS, informed. "They acquired a panoramic mosaic of the Saturn system that allows scientists to see details in the rings and throughout the system as they are backlit by the sun. This mosaic is special as it marks the third time our home planet was imaged from the outer solar system; the second time it was imaged by Cassini from Saturn's orbit; and the first time ever that inhabitants of Earth were made aware in advance that their photo would be taken from such a great distance."
The final image spans about 404,880 miles across with a "photobombing Earth and Moon" barely visible.
