Saturn.

[Triple Zero]

Well, ok, but the number of megapixels in a camera doesn't guarantee a high-quality picture because the quality of the lens and other components are also important.

LOL VODKA ATOMS

[Suu]

BUMP.



That's a real composite image from Cassini, by the way, not an artist's rendition.

[Suu]

Damn this thread...



Infrared of Uranus and moons Titania, Umbriel, Miranda, Ariel, and Oberon from 2002. It's kinda cool how the infrared makes the rings pop when they're usually invisible.

[Jasper]

The previous one, is that UV light surrounding it?

[Kai]

The previous one, is that UV light surrounding it?

The Saturn or Uranus? Pretty sure the Saturn is visible only.

[Jasper]

Saturn.  I was curious because that fluffy white stuff around the outside looks unreal.

If it's visible only, that's amazing.  What is that stuff?  I don't know.  All I know is that it looks like magic.

[Kai]

Saturn.  I was curious because that fluffy white stuff around the outside looks unreal.

If it's visible only, that's amazing.  What is that stuff?  I don't know.  All I know is that it looks like magic.

It's glare, mostly. The planet's a damn big ball of reflective gas and ice. Think of how the Pale Blue Dot has Earth suspended in lens flare.

[Jasper]

Okay, yeah I can see that.  It's still quite striking.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Heard something interesting on the science channel today. Apparently, Saturn's ring system is going to start disappearing, but around that same time, one of Neptunes moons (Triton, I think), will be ripped appart and form a significant ring system for Neptune.

Now that would be the best of all the gas giants. Turbulence like Jupiter (creating spots), Neptune's pretty methane color, and a Saturn like ring system.

Granted, this is in about a billion years, but it's nice to picture.

[Suu]

It's true. Every planet in the solar system is cooler than us.

Well...Except for Venus and Mercury.

Here's a beautiful enhanced photo of Venus:



I remember being able to look out my telescope early in the morning and get great shots of Venus, sometimes as clear as this shot from Galileo:



I don't know why I fell out of love with astronomy...Probably because I realized it was 90% fucking math.