| Prior to the Pioneer 11 close approach on September
1, 1979, Saturn had never been inspected by spacecraft. Pioneer 11 instruments
discovered a strong magnetic field surrounding Saturn, 500 times stronger
than Earth's and aligned with the orbital axis. The planet was also
found to have an internal heat source responsible for radiating more
energy than it receives from the Sun. |
| Imaging instruments on Pioneer found that unlike
Jupiter, the clouds of Saturn were very bland, with little real color
variation. |
87k GIF - 16k JPEG
NASA Press Release #79-HC-432
|
One of the first spacecraft views of Saturn was taken by
Pioneer 11 three days before its closest encounter. The moon Titan
is seen to the upper left. |
