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NASA spacecraft captures incredible shots of mysterious hexagon on Saturn

Picture NASA
Picture NASA

NASA’s Cassini probe has been exploring Saturn and its moons for more than 10 years – but it moving into a new orbit this week.

The Cassini spacecraft captured the views as it flew high above Saturn’s northern hemisphere – before it skims past the outer edges of the planet’s main rings.

The shots include views of the planet’s mysterious hexagon-shaped jet stream.

Future passes will include some of the closest-ever views of the outer rings and small moons that orbit there.

But once this phase of the mission is over, Cassini will plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere for one final mission.

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‘This is it, the beginning of the end of our historic exploration of Saturn. Let these images — and those to come – remind you that we’ve lived a bold and daring adventure around the solar system’s most magnificent planet,’ said Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team lead at Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has sent to Earth its first views of Saturn’s atmosphere since beginning the latest phase of its mission. The new images show scenes from high above Saturn’s northern hemisphere, including the planet’s intriguing hexagon-shaped jet stream.

Picture NASA
Picture NASA

On Sept. 15, the mission’s planned conclusion will be a final dive into Saturn’s atmosphere.

During its plunge, Cassini will transmit data about the atmosphere’s composition until its signal is lost.

Launched in 1997, Cassini has been touring the Saturn system since arriving in 2004 for an up-close study of the planet, its rings and moons.