Icy Dione captured in close-up

Cassini captured Dione on the gold and blue background of Saturn (Image: Nasa/JPL/SSI) Enlarge Image

The Cassini spacecraft has captured a stunning image of Saturn's moon Dione against the golden hue of the ringed planet.

Imaging scientists used the blue, green and infrared filters to approximate the colours as the eye would see them.

The spacecraft was nearly in the same plane as Saturn's rings when the view was obtained on 11 October.

Cassini arrived in orbit around Saturn on 1 July 2004 on a four-year mission to explore the planet and its moons.

The $3.2bn mission is a joint venture between the US space agency (Nasa), the European Space Agency (Esa) and the Italian Space Agency (Asi).

Dione orbits about 337,400km (about 234,500 miles) from Saturn. The moon has a diameter of 1,118km (695 miles).

The heavily cratered body is the second densest satellite of Saturn.