In a view possible only for a spacecraft flying above the plane of the solar system, this composite was created by Gordan Ugarkovic, an amateur astrophotographer who digitally stitched together 36 individual Cassini frames covering the gas giant and its majestic rings.

On close examination, a bizarre hexagon-shaped jet stream can be seen circling Saturn's northern pole, while the planet itself casts a long shadow onto its rings. —Andrew Fazekas