I’m two years behind on this image, which was brought to my attention by Carolyn Porco’s TED presentation:
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Not visible in this resized version, but clearly evident in the original, is Saturn’s moon Epimethus, whose gas jet from its south pole is responsible for the thin ring outside the main body. If you’re wondering why a saturnine moon has a gas jet, Porco discusses the theory that it’s caused by internal high temperatures and pressures acting on a subsurface body of water, vented through fissures in the surface. These are ideal conditions for the creation and eventual discovery of life.
Which is perhaps not so surprising, as the only known body in the solar system which has life on it also makes a cameo appearance. In this excerpt, you can see Earth (normally occluded by solar light), waving hello.
