Cassini climbs high to snap Saturn

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has snapped never-before-seen images of Saturn showing the planet from perspectives above and below its ring system, the US national space agency has announced.

The images were taken in recent weeks by the probe, which blasted off on a mission to study the planet and its bands a decade ago.

Over the last two months, the spacecraft has climbed to higher and higher inclinations, providing its cameras with glimpses of the planet and rings that have excited scientists.