Summary
True-color image of Hyperion taken by Cassini.
Original caption
Unlike most of the dull grey moons in the Solar System, Hyperion's color is a rosy tan, as this view shows.
The origin of the moon's unusual hue is not known. Some scientists suspect the color comes from falling debris from moons further out. A similar origin has been suggested for the dark reddish material on Saturn's moon Iapetus.
Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural color view. The images were taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 28, 2006 at a distance of approximately 291,000 kilometers (181,000 miles) from Hyperion. Image scale is 2 kilometers (1 mile) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit <http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm>. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at <http://ciclops.org>.
Copyright status
This image is credited to NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Per JPL/NASA policy and applicable United States federal law, such images are in the public domain, or, if they are owned by individuals or institutions other than NASA or JPL, may be used for any journalistic, educational, or personal purpose (but not a commercial purpose) without further authorization. NASA and JPL images, other than their respective institutional logos, or photographs of actual persons, are not subject to copyright and may be used without additional permission, unless otherwise declared. For details, see the JPL Image Use Policy Declaration.
Source
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute, <http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA08240.jpg>
