Saturn's rings appear to split a moon in half in new photo


NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured a new image of Saturn's moon, Dione, Dec. 25, 2015.

The small moon is 698 miles in diameter and orbits Saturn every 2.7 days.

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Cassini's photograph was taken just above Saturn's rings.

In the image, Saturn's rings appear to split Dione in half.

Much like Earth's moon, one side always faces toward its planet.

Dione was discovered in 1684 by Giovanni Cassini, whose last name is the namesake of the spacecraft orbiting Saturn and its system.

The Cassini spacecraft is a joint effort for NASA, the European Space Agency and Italian space agency Agenzia Spaziale Italiana.