Friday, July 21, 2006

Cassini's Half-time Extravaganza



Cassini has been orbiting Saturn for a couple years now. Time to bring a few things to your attention.

First is this video (6.7 MB) which NASA released to show the details from the last radar imaging across the moon of Titan. Watch the video as it points out features like coastlines, rivers, mountains, and lakes. Here is a high-res image of the swath featured in the video. (FYI - the role of water is played by methane or ethane on Titan, so don't plan your vacation.)

Second is the fact that Cassini is making another close pass of Titan today. The radar will be imaging the high northern terrain of Titan. Because it's shadowed and colder top men hope to spot some large hydrocarbon lakes.

And third is just a statistical note that the next two years of Cassini's four year mission will include 29 more passes of Titan - that's almost double the number of passes so far. We'll get to see a lot more of Titan.

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Previous related Wohba links:
Huygens Masterpiece Edition
Another Titan Pass
Titan TV

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