Cassini's flyby of Titan on July 22, 2006 sent the spacecraft into a more inclined orbit of Saturn. This remarkably clear view from that flyby shows the moon's characteristically dark mid-latitudes, and more southern terrain than the Cassini spacecraft has usually been able to glimpse.
This was the first in a series of "illuminated outbound flybys" of Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) where the illuminated hemisphere was visible following the closest approach.
The image was taken in polarized infrared light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on July 22, 2006 at a distance of approximately 148,000 kilometers (92,000 miles) from Titan. Image scale is 9 kilometers (5 miles) per pixel.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Titan | Saturn |
System | Saturn | |
Target Type | Satellite | Planet |
Mission | Cassini-Huygens | |
Instrument Host | Cassini Orbiter | |
Host Type | Orbiter | |
Instrument | Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) | |
Detector | Wide Angle Camera | |
Extra Keywords | Grayscale, Infrared, Visual | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2006-08-18 | |
Date in Caption | 2006-07-22 | |
Image Credit | NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08246 | |
Identifier | PIA08246 |