Eight Kilometers Above Titan

Astronomy Picture of the Day · 2005-01-19 · NASA (public domain)

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Eight Kilometers Above Titan — APOD for 2005-01-19

What are these surface features on Titan? Scroll right to see the panoramic view captured last week by the Huygens probe as it descended toward Saturn 's mysterious moon . Scientists are not yet sure what the above image is showing. On the far left, a boundary seems to exist between some sort of smooth dark terrain and a type of choppier terrain in the distance. In the image center and on the left, white areas cover the image that might be a type of ground fog . The Huygens probe landed in the dark area of the far right, finding a portion of Titan's surface that had the consistency of wet sand and a surface temperature of -179 degrees Celsius . Huygen's battery lasted an unexpectedly long three hours as it beamed back images and data to the Saturn-orbiting Cassini mothership and an armada of Earth's most sensitive radio telescopes . Analysis of the Huygens' images will likely continue for years in attempts to better understand this cloud-engulfed moon .

Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2005-01-19 — image & explanation courtesy of NASA (public domain), mirrored at Tukuk-OS for reading and search convenience.

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