The images have just come in from Cassini’s latest flyby of Titan! Just a few days ago, Cassini flew by Titan for the 119th time. (Wait… why is it the 119th flyby and not the 118th? Here’s why.)
Quick Facts:
- Name Titan (T-118) Flyby
- Date April 4, 2016 [SCET]
- Altitude 615 miles (990 kilometers)
- Speed 13,198 mph (5.9 km/sec)
- Goal To learn more about Titan’s atmosphere
Summary
During this flyby, the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) and the Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) instruments onboard the Cassini orbiter observed Titan’s atmosphere at the same time. Observations from UVIS and INMS will help us better understand the composition and density of Titan’s atmosphere.
Images
This is true color view of Titan, snapped by Cassini’s Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) (also known as Cassini’s cameras). You can see Titan’s colorful upper-level haze in this view. Click the image below for more details.
Here’s an even closer view of Titan’s upper-level haze layers (taken in the infrared).
Cassini’s ISS snapped this view in an infrared filter to peer through Titan’s thick atmosphere and image its surface.
And a labelled version. Click the image below for more details.
Here’s an up-close view of Titan’s surface. Check out the better views of Sinlap crater and faculae (bright spots) from the previous view!
This shows the close-up and its location on Titan’s surface:
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Note: All images credit NASA / JPL / SSI / Val Klavans unless otherwise specified.
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Sources
Want to know even more about this flyby? Check out an overview of this flyby from Cassini’s main website: Cassini’s ‘T-118’ Titan Encounter: Fly By Once, Measure Twice. (All of my information from this post, unless otherwise specified, comes from this source.)
Titan Saturn's Moon 