* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Titan

Blobrana · L

Saturn's moon Titan may have a deep, hidden ocean, according to data published in the journal Science.
Radar images from the Cassini-Huygens mission reinforce predictions that a reservoir of liquid water exists beneath the thick crust of ice.
If confirmed, it would mean that Titan has two of the key components for life - water and organic molecules.

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Blobrana · L

This image of Titan was acquired with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Jan. 29, 2008 at a distance of approximately 2.3 million kilometres.

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Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural colour view.

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A bright cloud can be seen in the northern skies of Titan.

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Credit NASA

This is the second time the Cassini spacecraft's imaging cameras have spotted clouds at 60 degrees north latitude on Titan -- the previous occasion being the Feb. 2007 observations during which the cameras saw the dark, hydrocarbon lakes that cover much of the north.

Blobrana · L

Des chercheurs de Besançon et de Grenoble, dans un article à paraître dans Astrophysical Journal Letters, viennent de proposer une solution à la question de l'inexistence d'un océan recouvrant Titan. La surface de Titan serait recouverte d'une couche poreuse de cryolave qui absorberait les hydrocarbures présents dans l'atmosphère de Titan. Il y aurait ainsi formation d'une couche de plus de deux kilomètres d'épaisseurs de clathrates d'hydrates riches en éthane.
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Blobrana · L

This natural colour view of Titan was composed by combining images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters. The images were taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Jan. 5, 2008, when it was approximately 213,000 kilometres from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft angle of 128 degrees.

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Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

North on Titan is up and rotated 30 degrees to the right. The moon's north pole tilts slightly away from the spacecraft here. Image scale is 13 kilometres per pixel.

Blobrana · L

This synthetic aperture radar image was obtained by the Cassini spacecraft on its pass by Titan's south pole on Dec. 20, 2007. This image is centred near 76.5 south, 32.5 west and covers an area of 620 kilometres by 270 kilometres.

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Credit: NASA/JPL

Abundant evidence for flowing liquids is seen in this image, from sinuous, wide river channels to shorter, more chaotic drainage patterns. The extremely dissected, rugged terrain in the southern portion of the image has been very eroded by flowing liquids, probably from a combination of methane rainstorms and sapping (subsurface methane rising to erode the surface). The broad valleys seen in the lefthand portion of the image are particularly intriguing, as they appear to be flat-floored, filled with smooth material, and in places have sharply defined, relatively straight sides. Valleys such as this can be formed by tectonic processes, such as rifting, or by erosional processes, caused by flowing liquid or ice.

Blobrana · L

This synthetic aperture radar image was obtained by the Cassini spacecraft on its pass by Titan's south pole on Dec. 20, 2007. This image is centred near 76.5 south, 32.5 west and covers an area of 620 kilometres by 270 kilometres.

Expand (1.5mb, 1536 x 3548)
Credit: NASA/JPL

Abundant evidence for flowing liquids is seen in this image, from sinuous, wide river channels to shorter, more chaotic drainage patterns. The extremely dissected, rugged terrain in the southern portion of the image has been very eroded by flowing liquids, probably from a combination of methane rainstorms and sapping (subsurface methane rising to erode the surface). The broad valleys seen in the lefthand portion of the image are particularly intriguing, as they appear to be flat-floored, filled with smooth material, and in places have sharply defined, relatively straight sides. Valleys such as this can be formed by tectonic processes, such as rifting, or by erosional processes, caused by flowing liquid or ice.

Blobrana · L

This image of Titan was taken by the Cassini spaceprobe on January 05, 2008, when it was approximately 49,663 kilometres away.

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Credit NASA

The image was taken using the CB3 and CL2 filters.

Blobrana · L

This image of Titan was taken by the Cassini spaceprobe on January 05, 2008, when it was approximately 5,375 kilometres away.

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Credit NASA

The image was taken using the CB3 and CL2 filters.