Peering Deep into Titan's Impressive Atmosphere: Big Pic
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Dec. 20, 2011 -- This hazy swath of pale blue, sea green and dusky orange might look like a photo of an Earthly sunrise photo from the space station, but it's actually an image of a much more extraterrestrial locale; this is a glimpse into the thick atmosphere surrounding Saturn's moon, Titan.
This color view was created by combining raw images acquired on Dec. 13 by the Cassini spacecraft into one single image, which approximates true color as our eyes might see it.
The composite was made by Jason Major (that's me).
SCIENCE CHANNEL: The Cassini Mission in Pictures
Titan is truly a giant among moons. At 3,200 miles (5,150 km) across it is even larger than the planet Mercury, and unlike any other moon in our solar system it is covered by a thick, complex atmosphere composed of methane and hydrocarbons. In fact, Titan's atmosphere is up to ten times thicker than Earth's!
Titan's frigid yet remarkably Earth-like surface features dune-filled plains, mountains, valleys, and lakes and streams of liquid methane... and it may even have a liquid subsurface ocean.
ANALYSIS: Titan's Hazy History and the Potential for Life
NASA is currently working on future plans to explore Titan's surface.
See more color images from Cassini's latest flyby of Titan here, and as always you can see the latest images from Cassini on JPL's mission site and on the Cassini Imaging Lab website.
-- by Jason Major
Image credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute. Edited by J. Major. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2012.
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