Saturn: Still some way off, but getting closer all the time

The US-European spacecraft is not due at the giant ringed planet until July but has just sent back another stunning image, taken from a distance of 69m km.

The smallest features visible in the new picture - a composite of a series of exposures taken through different filters - are about 540 km across.

The main probe Cassini will investigate Saturn for four years, with the Huygens despatched to the large moon Titan.

"We very much want everyone to enjoy Cassini's tour of this magnificent planetary system," said Dr Carolyn Porco, leader of the Cassini imaging science team at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

"And I can say right now the views out the window will be stunning."

The images sent back from Cassini-Huygens will now come thick and fast, with the first pictures of Titan arriving at the beginning of April.

Through Cassini, about 260 scientists from 17 countries hope to gain a better understanding of Saturn, its famous rings, its magnetosphere, Titan, and its other icy moons.

"Cassini is probably the most ambitious exploration mission ever launched and is the fruit of an active international collaboration," said Dr Andre Brahic, imaging team member and professor at Universit� Paris 7-Denis Diderot, France.