1. Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations, Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA
2. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, New York 10025, USA
3. Astronomy Unit, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
4. C.E. de Saclay, Université Paris 7, L'Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
5. Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Space Sciences Bldg, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
6. Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona, 1629 E. University Blvd, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
7. Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität, 12249 Berlin, Germany
8. Department of Space Sciences, Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 400, Boulder, Colorado 80302, USA
9. Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, 150-21, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
10. Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center, Rutherfordstrasse 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany
11. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA

Correspondence to: Carolyn C. Porco¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to C.C.P. (Email: carolyn@ciclops.org).

Abstract

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only satellite in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere. The atmosphere is poorly understood and obscures the surface, leading to intense speculation about Titan's nature. Here we present observations of Titan from the imaging science experiment onboard the Cassini spacecraft that address some of these issues. The images reveal intricate surface albedo features that suggest aeolian, tectonic and fluvial processes; they also show a few circular features that could be impact structures. These observations imply that substantial surface modification has occurred over Titan's history. We have not directly detected liquids on the surface to date. Convective clouds are found to be common near the south pole, and the motion of mid-latitude clouds consistently indicates eastward winds, from which we infer that the troposphere is rotating faster than the surface. A detached haze at an altitude of 500 km is 150–200 km higher than that observed by Voyager, and more tenuous haze layers are also resolved.

MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS

These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.