Always look on the night side

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft looks down at the rings of Saturn from above the planet’s night side. The darkened globe of Saturn is seen at lower right, along with the shadow it casts across the rings.

The image shows that even on the planet’s dark side, the rings remain in sunlight, apart from the section that lies within Saturn’s shadow. The rings also reflect sunlight back onto the night side of the planet, making it appear brighter than it would otherwise appear.