Saturn's Rings: NASA Photo Gives New Look at Sixth Planet From the Sun

— -- NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn has captured a stunning photo showing off the layered details of the planet's famous rings.

While Saturn's rings appear to be solid disks from a distance, a closer look snapped by the Cassini mission shows intricate structures within the rings.

The detail seen in the photo was snapped on Jan. 8 at a distance of 566,000 miles using Cassini's wide-angle camera but was posted today by NASA.

The space agency said the varied structures in the rings are likely caused by Saturn's numerous moons. Two of those moons, Pan and Daphnis, are responsible for the dark gaps seen around the outermost ring.

Another moon, Prometheus, can be seen in the lower left quadrant of the new Cassini image.

The Cassini mission launched in 1997 on a 7-year journey to Saturn. Since its arrival in 2004, the spacecraft has studied the sixth planet from the sun closely, gathering data on its atmosphere, magnetic fields, rings and icy moons.