Sabrina Dean

Bloemfontein - Put on your best smile tomorrow and give a big wave because Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft is going to photograph you, the person next to you and… well, basically everyone on earth.

Tomorrow is “The Day The Earth Smiled” when the Cassini, which is currently orbiting Saturn, will turn towards the earth while the giant planet blocks the sun. It will spend four hours photographing Saturn, its rings and the distant earth and moon.

The “pale blue dot” image of the earth is being captured from more than a million kilometres away.

Various activities are being held to celebrate achievements in the exploration of our solar system.

International organisation The World At Night is inviting people across the planet to contribute Saturn related photographs for a Great Mosaic. These could be photos of a person holding an image of Saturn, widefield photos of Saturn in the night sky or pictures of people observing Saturn.

Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco’s company Diamond Sky Productions is also hosting a “Message to the Milky Way” competition in which people can submit a musical composition or a digital photo taken tomorrow.

The winning entries will then be beamed across the galaxy by the largest single radio telescope on earth, the 305-meter Arecibo dish in Puerto Rico.

For further information visit www.twanight.org or thedaytheearthsmiled.com.