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Cassini’s VIMS spectrometer is an instrument which can analyse the wavelengths of visible light and middle infrared very precisely, provided detailed analysis of the chemical and mineralogical composition of Saturn’s moon Phoebe. It turned out that Phoebe has a very much more variable composition, as had been expected. The picture shows a black and white view (top left), a depiction of the images taken in infrared (top, centre) and an image showing areas of varying concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) detected by individual spectral channels (top right). The relatively high CO² concentrations are one of the main arguments why, for Phoebe, an origin in the outer Solar System is accepted and not in the direct environment of Saturn. (Picture: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona).
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