{"id":113657,"date":"2021-05-06T01:45:26","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T01:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=113657"},"modified":"2021-05-06T01:45:26","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T01:45:26","slug":"fact-check-image-of-saturn-is-an-artists-rendering-not-an-up-close-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/fact-check-image-of-saturn-is-an-artists-rendering-not-an-up-close-photo\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact check: Image of Saturn is an artist’s rendering, not an up-close photo"},"content":{"rendered":"

The claim: Image is the closest ever taken of Saturn<\/h2>\n

The Cassini spacecraft captured hundreds of thousands of images of Saturn before concluding nearly two decades of space exploration by plunging into the ringed planet’s atmosphere in September 2017.<\/p>\n

But an image shared May 2 on Facebook that claims to be the \u201cclosest image to Saturn we have ever gotten\u201d isn\u2019t one of them. It is an artist’s concept.<\/p>\n

The image shows part of Cassini in the foreground, with layers of clouds blanketing the planet. Its rings rise from the horizon before disappearing off the top of the frame.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is so incredibly beautiful,\u201d the user who shared the image wrote.<\/p>\n

Fact check: <\/strong>Heavily edited viral image of sun’s surface wasn’t taken by NASA<\/span><\/p>\n

The user did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Artist\u2019s concept<\/h2>\n

While the image is passing as an up-close shot of a planet hundreds of millions of miles from Earth, a reverse image search links back to a \u201cconcept\u201d image from NASA on April 6, 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe artist\u2019s concept shows an over-the-shoulder view of Cassini making one of its Grand Finale dives over Saturn,\u201d according to the caption on NASA\u2019s website. The image circulated in similar fashion\u00a0and was debunked as fake\u00a0in 2018 as well.<\/p>\n

In all, Cassini captured 453,048 images during its nearly 20 years in space, according to NASA, but none of them was the image shared on Facebook. NASA maintains a public online gallery of nearly 400,000 raw images the spacecraft captured between Feb. 20, 2004, and Sept. 15, 2017.<\/p>\n

Fact check: <\/strong>Viral image of Great Conjunction is artistic rendering, not Ball State photo<\/span><\/p>\n

NASA distributed the artist’s rendering being passed off as a real image in 2017 as the spacecraft neared the end of its mission.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This artist\u2019s concept shows an over-the-shoulder view of Cassini making one of its Grand Finale dives over Saturn. The image has been circulated online as an up-close view of Saturn, but it is an artist's concept. (Photo: NASA\/JPL-Caltech)<\/span><\/p>\n

Cassini\u2019s \u2018grand finale\u2019<\/h2>\n

Cassini launched on Oct. 15, 1997, as a joint venture among NASA, the European Space Agency and Italy\u2019s space agency, carrying a probe called Huygens that would be used to study Saturn\u2019s largest moon, Titan.<\/p>\n

It took almost seven years for Cassini to arrive at Saturn, where it spent about 13 years in the planet\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n

After completing multiple missions over almost 20 years in space, Cassini was running low on rocket fuel used to adjust course in its orbit of Saturn. To avoid Cassini potentially crashing into one of the planet\u2019s two moon\u2019s that have shown \u201cpotential to contain habitable \u2013 or at least prebiotic \u2013 environments,\u201d the decision was made to send Cassini into Saturn, according to NASA.<\/p>\n

In its \u201cgrand finale\u201d mission, Cassini made weekly dives through a 1,200-mile wide gap between Saturn and its rings over the course of six months. Those passes allowed Cassini to collect new data on Saturn\u2019s gravity and magnetic fields, the amount of material in its rings, and what NASA described as \u201cultra-close images of Saturn\u2019s rings and clouds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fact check: <\/strong>Mars Perseverance rover landing happened, Ingenuity helicopter can fly on Mars<\/span><\/p>\n

On Sept. 15, 2017, Cassini dove into Saturn\u2019s atmosphere, sending data back to Earth until it \u201cburned up and disintegrated like a meteor.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This image made available by NASA in April 2017 shows a still from the short film "Cassini's Grand Finale," with the spacecraft diving between Saturn and the planet's innermost ring. Launched in 1997, Cassini reached Saturn in 2004. (Photo: AP)<\/span><\/p>\n

Our rating: False<\/h2>\n

The claim that an image circulating online is the closest ever taken of Saturn is FALSE based on our research. The image is an artist’s rendering NASA distributed in 2017 as the Cassini spacecraft concluded two decades in space, where it orbited Saturn 294 times and captured 453,048 images.<\/p>\n

Our fact-check sources:<\/h2>\n