December 30, 2008


Dear Friends and Colleagues,


Today, we mark the end of 2008 ... another glorious year traveling Saturn.

In its four years of flying sentry, Cassini has borne witness to the
changes of season in this sector of our solar system, and the
transformations they have brought, in form and color, to the face of the
planet, the re-appearance of the famous spokes within its rings, the
onset of eclipses of its many moons, and other Saturnian phenomena ...
transformations documented in the set of heavenly sights being released
today by the Cassini Imaging Team.

Go to ...

http://ciclops.org

... and take your fill as you contemplate the close of a year rich in
splendor, and the beginning of a new one.


And for those of you fascinated with space exploration of any kind, and
eager to be among kindred souls as we commemorate in 2009 the 40th
anniversary of Apollo 11's historic first lunar landing, you might also
contemplate attending SpaceFest in San Diego, California in February,
2009.

http://www.spacefest.info/

Aside from presentations on missions such as Cassini, the Phoenix Mars
lander, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and New Horizons, aside from expert
presentations ranging from global climate change to asteroid diversion
to the NASA Constellation program for returning humans to space, and
aside from the largest exhibit of space art displayed anywhere, there
you can meet shuttle astronauts, test pilots, the actors Keir Dullea and
Gary Lockwood from `2001: A Space Odyssey' and the Apollo astronauts
themselves: Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins from Apollo 11, Dick Gordon
and Alan Bean from Apollo 12, Edgar Mitchell from Apollo 14, Charlie
Duke from Apollo 16, Gene Cernan from Apollo 17, and others.

I very much hope to see you there.

In the meantime, here's wishing you all a peaceful and happy 2009!


Enjoy,


Carolyn Porco
Cassini Imaging Team Leader
Director/CICOPS
Space Science Institute
Boulder, CO