Before you publish any NASA images make sure to read their complete Photo Guidelines, which includes this clearance for general use:
NASA images generally are not copyrighted. You may use NASA imagery, video and audio material for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits and Internet Web pages. This general permission does not include the NASA insignia logo (the blue "meatball" insignia), the NASA logotype (the red "worm" logo) and the NASA seal. These images may not be used by persons who are not NASA employees or on products (including Web pages) that are not NASA sponsored.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory you can find many beautiful and mysterious images that can be used in your design projects.
You can see most of what is available on the Cassini-Huygens Mission Images page. From that page click on Saturn in the left-side navigation to see the entire collection. Most photos are also available in high resolution. The following are some of our favorites:
Cassini Spacecraft Witnesses Saturn's Blues
From the NASA website:
Mimas drifts along in its orbit against the azure backdrop of Saturn's northern latitudes in this true color view. The long, dark lines on the atmosphere are shadows cast by the planet's rings.
Saturn's northern hemisphere is presently relatively cloud-free, and rays of sunlight take a long path through the atmosphere. This results in sunlight being scattered at shorter (bluer) wavelengths, thus giving the northernmost latitudes their bluish appearance at visible wavelengths..
go to NASA photo page - Saturn's Blues
1981 Voyager 2 Image Of Saturn
From the NASA website:
This 1981 Voyager 2 image shows the vast Saturn ring system, as well as three small icy satellites and the shadow of a fourth.
Most of the visible markings are formed in a layer of ammonia ice clouds, which form at a pressure level in Saturn's atmosphere that is comparable to sea-level atmospheric pressure on Earth. Above those clouds, Saturn's atmosphere, like those of the Sun and the other three gas giant planets, is composed almost exclusively of hydrogen and helium. By contrast, Saturn's rings and icy satellites appear to be composed primarily of water ice.
go to NASA photo page - Voyager Images of Saturn
A Change of Seasons on Saturn
From the NASA website:
Looming like a giant flying saucer in our outer solar system, Saturn puts on a show as the planet and its magnificent ring system nod majestically over the course of its 29-year journey around the Sun.
These Hubble Space Telescope images, captured from 1996 to 2000, show Saturn's rings open up from just past edge-on to nearly fully open as it moves from autumn towards winter in its Northern Hemisphere.
go to NASA photo page - Seasons on Saturn
Enhanced Image of Saturn
From the NASA website:
This enhanced-color image was created by combining three images taken through ultraviolet, violet and green filters on July 12, 1981. Several changes were apparent in Saturn's atmosphere since Voyager 1's November 1980 encounter, and the planet's rings had brightened considerably due to the higher sun angle.
Voyager 2 was 43 million kilometers (27 million miles) from Saturn when it took this photograph.
go to NASA photo page - Enhanced Images of Saturn
Saturn's Rings, Cold and Colder
From the NASA website:
The varying temperatures of Saturn's rings are depicted here in this false-color image from the Cassini spacecraft.
This image represents the most detailed look to date at the temperature of Saturn's rings. The image was made from data taken by Cassini's composite infrared spectrometer instrument.
Red represents temperatures of about 110 Kelvin (-261 degrees Fahrenheit), and blue 70 Kelvin (-333 degrees Fahrenheit). Green is equivalent to 90 Kelvin (-298 degrees Fahrenheit). Water freezes at 273 Kelvin (32 degrees Fahrenheit). The spatial resolution of the ring portion of the image is 200 kilometers (124 miles).
go to NASA photo page - Saturn's Rings
Saturn's Ring System
From the NASA website:
Possible variations in chemical composition from one part of Saturn's ring system to another are visible in this Voyager 2 picture as subtle color variations that can be recorded with special computer-processing techniques.
This highly enhanced color view was assembled from clear, orange and ultraviolet frames obtained August 17, 1981 from a distance of 8.9 million kilometers (5.5 million miles).
In addition to the previously known blue color of the C-ring and the Cassini Division, the picture shows additional color differences between the inner B-ring and outer region (where the spokes form) and between these and the A-ring.
go to NASA photo page - Saturn's Ring System
About The Cassini-Huygens Mission
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 Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science and Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Composite Infrared Spectrometer team is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
NASA Mars Exploration Site
On the Mars Exploration Page you'll find links to many wonderful images. Go to "Multimedia" and from there click on "Images" to see the selections. Click on "Latest Images" and you'll see a calendar of dates. Or try the "Global Views of Mars" for beautiful photos of the planet.
From the NASA website:
The picture shown here is a composite of 9 color strips taken on 9 successive orbits from pole-to-pole over the planet during the calibration phase of the mission in March 1999. The large, circular bright region that dominates the scene is Arabia Terra. Syrtis Major is the dark region toward the lower right. The north polar cap is visible at the top, and the bright feature at the lower right is the Hellas Basin. The color in this picture is computer-enhanced and is not shown as it would actually appear to the human eye.
go to NASA photo page - Mars Composite
NASA Apollo 11 Photo Gallery
From the NASA website:
The Project Apollo Archive serves as an online reference source and repository of digital images pertaining to the historic manned lunar landing program.
Page 2 of the Apollo 11 section now includes that mission's film magazine "S" in its entirety, representing all photographs taken during the historic first moonwalk on July 20, 1969. Images identified with the prefix AS11-40 are now seen for the first time in their clearest and most accurate presentation to date, and are a result of recent work by Johnson Space Center to digitally scan original Apollo film.
For images of the Earth and Moon look for "11-pg2" in the index at top of page.
go to NASA Apollo 11 Project page
Planetary Photojournal — NASA Planet Photos
At the Planetary Photojournal you'll find a huge collection of publicly released images from various Solar System exploration programs.
There's a dropdown menu that will take you to the individual photo pages for the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. There's also a collection of photos of Small Bodies which includes Asteroids, Comets and Stardust.
go to NASA Planetary Photojournal
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Each day a different image or photograph of the universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. In the archives you'll find links to every photo presented — from June 16, 1995 to the present.
About image permissions: All the images on the APOD page are credited to the owner or institution where they originated. Some of the images are copyrighted and to use these pictures publicly or commercially one must write to the owners for permission. For the copyrighted images, the copyright owner is identified in the APOD credit line (please see the caption under the image), along with a hyperlink to the owner's location. NASA images are in the public domain. For images credited to other owners/institutions, please contact them directly for copyright and permissions questions.
go to Astronomy Picture of the Day
