Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft
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 experimen...
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ftcaltechauth:oai:authors.library.caltech.edu:36603 2023-05-15T18:22:27+02:00 Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft Porco, Carolyn C. Dyudina, Ulyana Ingersoll, Andrew P. 2005-03-10 https://authors.library.caltech.edu/36603/ https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130125-142705202 unknown Nature Publishing Group Porco, Carolyn C. and Dyudina, Ulyana and Ingersoll, Andrew P. (2005) Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft. Nature, 434 (7030). pp. 159-168. ISSN 0028-0836. doi:10.1038/nature03436. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130125-142705202 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130125-142705202> Article PeerReviewed 2005 ftcaltechauth https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03436 2021-11-11T18:52:36Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) South Pole Nature 434 7030 159 168 |
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Caltech Authors (California Institute of Technology) |
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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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Porco, Carolyn C. Dyudina, Ulyana Ingersoll, Andrew P. |
spellingShingle |
Porco, Carolyn C. Dyudina, Ulyana Ingersoll, Andrew P. Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft |
author_facet |
Porco, Carolyn C. Dyudina, Ulyana Ingersoll, Andrew P. |
author_sort |
Porco, Carolyn C. |
title |
Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft |
title_short |
Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft |
title_full |
Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft |
title_fullStr |
Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft |
title_full_unstemmed |
Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft |
title_sort |
imaging of titan from the cassini spacecraft |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://authors.library.caltech.edu/36603/ https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130125-142705202 |
geographic |
South Pole |
geographic_facet |
South Pole |
genre |
South pole |
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South pole |
op_relation |
Porco, Carolyn C. and Dyudina, Ulyana and Ingersoll, Andrew P. (2005) Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft. Nature, 434 (7030). pp. 159-168. ISSN 0028-0836. doi:10.1038/nature03436. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130125-142705202 <https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130125-142705202> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03436 |
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Nature |
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434 |
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7030 |
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159 |
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168 |
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1766201868405440512 |