Titan's thick haze layer is shown in this enhanced Voyager 1 image taken Nov. 12, 1980 at a distance of 435,000 kilometers (270,000 miles). Voyager images of Saturn's largest moon show Titan completely enveloped by haze that merges with a darker "hood" or cloud layer over the north pole. Such a mantle is not present at the south pole. At Voyager's closest approach to Titan on Nov. 11, 1980, spacecraft instruments found that the moon has a substantial atmosphere, far denser than that of Mars and possibly denser than Earth's.
The Voyager Project is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Titan | Mars |
System | Saturn | |
Target Type | Satellite | Planet |
Mission | Voyager | |
Instrument Host | Cassini Orbiter | Voyager 1 |
Host Type | Orbiter | Flyby Spacecraft |
Instrument | Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) | |
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Atmosphere, Color, Haze | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2000-03-16 | |
Date in Caption | 1980-11-11 | 1980-11-12 |
Image Credit | NASA/JPL | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA02238 | |
Identifier | PIA02238 |