Space
NASA Reveals Titan is a Blue-Green Gem Beneath Its Haze
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Dec 11, 2015 08:50 AM EST
The latest image of Titan makes the moon like a blue-green gem, glowing amidst the backdrop of space. The new picture penetrates Titan's haze and reveals the moon's surface.
The Cassini spacecraft captured the image on Nov. 13, 2015. During this flyby of Titan, the spacecraft was just 6,200 miles above the moon's surface. The high flyby allowed VIMS to gather moderate-resolution views over wide areas.
The view itself looks toward terrain that is mostly on the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Titan. The scene features the parallel, dark, dune-filled regions named Fensal to the north and Aztlan to the south, which form the shape of a sideways letter "H."
Several places on the image show the surface at higher resolution than elsewhere. These areas, called subframes, were acquired near closest approach.
Due to the changing Saturnian seasons, in this late northern spring view the illumination is significantly changed from that seen by VIMS during the flyby on Dec. 26, 2005. The sun has moved higher in the sky in Titan's northern hemisphere, and lower in the sky in the south, as northern summer approaches. This change in the sun's angle with respect to Titan's surface has made high southern latitudes appear darker, while northern latitudes appear brighter.
For more information about the Cassini mission, visit NASA's website.
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First Posted: Dec 11, 2015 08:50 AM EST
The latest image of Titan makes the moon like a blue-green gem, glowing amidst the backdrop of space. The new picture penetrates Titan's haze and reveals the moon's surface.
The Cassini spacecraft captured the image on Nov. 13, 2015. During this flyby of Titan, the spacecraft was just 6,200 miles above the moon's surface. The high flyby allowed VIMS to gather moderate-resolution views over wide areas.
The view itself looks toward terrain that is mostly on the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Titan. The scene features the parallel, dark, dune-filled regions named Fensal to the north and Aztlan to the south, which form the shape of a sideways letter "H."
Several places on the image show the surface at higher resolution than elsewhere. These areas, called subframes, were acquired near closest approach.
Due to the changing Saturnian seasons, in this late northern spring view the illumination is significantly changed from that seen by VIMS during the flyby on Dec. 26, 2005. The sun has moved higher in the sky in Titan's northern hemisphere, and lower in the sky in the south, as northern summer approaches. This change in the sun's angle with respect to Titan's surface has made high southern latitudes appear darker, while northern latitudes appear brighter.
For more information about the Cassini mission, visit NASA's website.
Related Articles
New, Spectacular NASA Visualization Predicts Space Weather Around Pluto (VIDEO)
Dawn Spacecraft Discovers What Mysterious Bright Spots on Ceres are Made Of (VIDEO)
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone