Cassini Releases Mosaic Image Of Earth During 'Wave At Saturn'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — If a picture says a thousand words, then you might say Planet Earth has spoken.

Angelenos joined people from around the world in sharing more than 1,400 images of themselves as part of the "Wave at Saturn" event organized by NASA's Cassini mission on July 19.

Using an image of Earth as the base, NASA then assembled a collage from the images shared via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Google+ and email "as a tribute to the people of Earth."

"While Earth is too small in the images Cassini obtained to distinguish any individual human beings, the mission has put together this collage so that we can celebrate all your waving hands, uplifted paws, smiling faces and artwork," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Cassini took a picture of Earth as part of a larger set of images it was collecting of the Saturn system. Scientists are busy putting together the color mosaic of the Saturn system, which they expect will take at least several more weeks to complete.

Scientists are poring over visible-light and infrared data from Saturn's rings as part of their study of the planet and its moons, Titan and Enceladus.

For more information about the Cassini mission, visit: NASA.gov/cassini.