Posted on 05/02/2026 11:23:26 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Shrouded in a thick atmosphere, the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is really hard to see. Small particles suspended in Titan's upper atmosphere cause an almost impenetrable haze, strongly scattering light at visible wavelengths and hiding surface features from prying eyes. Still, Titan's surface is better imaged at infrared wavelengths, where scattering is weaker and atmospheric absorption is reduced. Arrayed around this visible light image (center) of Titan are some of the clearest global infrared views of the tantalizing moon so far. In false color, the six panels present a consistent processing of 13 years of infrared image data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on board the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn from 2004 to 2017. They offer a stunning comparison with Cassini's visible light view. NASA's revolutionary rotorcraft mission to Titan's surface is due to launch no earlier than July, 2028.
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Wow.
Nice and round. Pretty. But alas, pretty inhospitable.
A very strange place.
Titan, with its ocean of liquid methane, is certainly fascinating. One of Saturn’s other large moons, Enceladus with its active liquid water geysers is less impressive-looking, but equally strange.
“ rotorcraft mission to Titan’s surface is due to launch no earlier than July, 2028.”
Cool! Had not heard about that. Building on the brilliant helo on Mars.
Titan is larger than Mercury but it doesn’t rate the designation of “dwarf planet.” Maybe it should be called an “honorary dwarf planet.”
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