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What were the major discoveries of the Pioneer 11 mission at Saturn?
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Saturn
Saturn and its spectacular rings, in a natural-color composite of 126 images taken by the Cassini spacecraft on October 6, 2004. The view is directed toward Saturn's southern hemisphere, which is tipped toward the Sun. Shadows cast by the rings are visible against the bluish northern hemisphere, while the planet's shadow is projected on the rings to the left.
The Pioneer 11 mission, which performed a flyby of Saturn in September 1979, provided critical early data that expanded our understanding of the Saturnian system.
The major discoveries of the mission included:
- Identification of additional rings: The data and photographs returned by the spacecraft enabled scientists to identify two additional rings around the planet.1
- Detection of radiation belts: The mission confirmed the presence of radiation belts within Saturn's magnetosphere.1
By passing within approximately 20,900 km (13,000 miles) of the planet, Pioneer 11 paved the way for subsequent, more detailed investigations by the Voyager and Cassini-Huygens missions.213