February 22, 2003
The Moon has changed phase thousands of times since the beginning of the cosmos, but only once did it shine on the night you arrived.
Infrared Saturn
Birthday · February 22, 2003
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published February 22, 2003. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
This delightfully detailed false-color image of Saturn was taken in January 1998 by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. The picture is a combination of three images from Hubble's NICMOS instrument and shows the lovely ringed planet in reflected infrared sunlight. Different colors indicated varying heights and compositions of cloud layers generally thought to consist of ammonia ice crystals. The eye-catching rings cast a shadow on Saturn's upper hemisphere. The bright stripe seen within the left portion of the shadow is infrared sunlight streaming through the large gap in the rings known as the Cassini Division. Two of Saturn's many moons have also put in an appearance, Tethys just beyond the planet's disk at the upper right, and Dione at the lower left. Presently, Saturn shines brightly in evening skies as a pale yellow "star" near the constellation Orion.