Washington, June 23 (IANS): NASA's Cassini spacecraft, on a study mission to Saturn since 1997, has captured a rare triple crescent moons sighting on Saturn.

Saturn has nine named moons and as many as 53 natural satellites in its orbit.

As the multiple moons wax and wane in light, they create a mesmerising image. Such a triple crescent moon sighting was captured by Cassini in March, but has just now been released by NASA, Slashgear.com reported.

Titan, the largest moon pictured, appears a bit fuzzy due to the cloud layers. The moon in the upper left-hand side is Rhea, which has a diameter about one-third the size of Titan. Rhea appears a bit bumpy due to its ice-covered craters.

The smallest crescent moon pictured is the minute Mimas, which is around 13 times smaller than Titan.

The photograph was taken using only visible light and a narrow-angle lens from the Cassini spacecraft, from a distance of over 1.9 million km.

It captures what could be seen with naked eyes, if given the chance.