Unveiling Titan

[fangsheath]

Are you sure? According to the Cassini site, the synthetic aperture image is near 52 N 73 W, while the elevation transect is at 25 N 5 W.<br /><br />The smoothness of the surface along that transect is quite interesting, though. Hundreds of kilometers without so much as a 50-m change (at least at the scale of this instrument).

 

[centsworth_II]

<font color="yellow">"Are you sure?"</font><br /><br />No, I'm not sure. I based my assumption on a paragraph (below) in the article "Follow The Arrow". I assumed only one swath of radar images was taken on the Oct. 26 fly-by. If synthetic aperture radar images were made of other areas, then I am confusing the two. If so, I wonder if the synthetic aperture radar gives any vertical elevation data. It wasn't mentioned in the article. <br /><br /><b>From "Follow The Arrow":</b><br />"The area shown is about 115 kilometers (71 miles) wide and 170 kilometers (106 miles) high and is located near 52 degrees north latitude and 73 degrees west longitude. <b>This radar image is part of a larger strip of data acquired on Oct. 26, 2004, as Cassini passed Titan at a distance of 1,200 kilometers (746 miles).</b>" <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[volcanopele2]

The SAR strip and the altimetry strip do not coincide. The altimetry strip is essentially just after the end of the SAR strip, so no altimetry data has been taken over the arrow-shaped feature.

 

[centsworth_II]

Thanks, volcanopele2. So we <b>don't</b> know what sorts of elevations are represented in the features around the "arrow'. I'm looking forward to when the altimetry, SAR, and "visual" data start overlapping. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[volcanopele2]

We should start getting some over lapping coverage in T3 and T4.

 

[imran10]

Mission cleared for Titan plunge<br /><br />By Jonathan Amos <br />BBC News science reporter

 

[vegemite]

So with atmospheric pressure so close to that of earth could a person stand on the surface of Titan with just an oxygen mask and some warm clothes?

 

[titanian]

At the surface of Titan, the expected temperature of -180°c ( -292°F) is close to the point where nitrogen becomes liquid and methane is in its liquid form.So, I assume that anybody with an appropriate spacesuit could face a dense fog and have some big difficulty to find his way in this alien world ( vapour of nitrogen, methane...). And the average luminosity in this environment is likely to be between 90 times and 1000 times weaker than on Earth.So, dense fog+weak sunlight=...<br />Regarding your question about the capability of human beings to survive under those extreme conditions, I refer to the biologist.<br /><br />Artist's impressions of the surface of Titan on the web page of Ralph D Lorenz:<br />www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rlorenz/index.html<br />

 

[alexblackwell]

Second space Christmas for ESA: Huygens to begin its final journey to Titan<br />ESA PR 63-2004<br />December 7, 2004

 

[titanian]

Direct link to artist's impressions of the surface of Titan on the web page of Ralph D Lorenz:<br />www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rlorenz/titanart/titan1.html<br />

 

[alexblackwell]

Tb Mission Description - December 2004<br />(1.07 Mb PDF)

 

[mikehoward]

The "line" in these raw images of Titan is interesting. I'm guessing it's related to the south polar clouds?<br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/casJPGFullS06/N00024970.jpg<br />http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/raw/casJPGFullS06/N00024968.jpg

 

[alexblackwell]

Some early imagery from the Tb flyby is now being displayed on the JPL Cassini/Huygens website.

 

[alexblackwell]

Cassini Successfully Completes Titan Flyby<br />Jet Propulsion Laboratory<br />December 13, 2004

 

[centsworth_II]

<font color="yellow"> "...the Huygens lander.... Hopefully, NASA is better at it than the Beagle on Mars."</font><br /><br />Actually, we need to hope that the ESA is better at it.<br /><br />From ESA's Huygens: The Day of Descent: <br /><br /><i>"Jean-Pierre Lebreton, Huygens Project Scientist, will be in ESA's European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) at Darmstadt, Germany, during the descent of the probe. As any space scientist knows, planetary descents can be risky things. However, Lebreton says that preparations for the day of descent are going well..."</i> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[spacester]

How dare those French do something creditable!<br /><br />How are we gonna turn them into the new enemy if they do stuff like this?!<br /><img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br />Tres Bien, froggies . . . c'est magnifique!<br /><img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br /><br />Thanks again Alex, this thread is a valuable resource . . . <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[alexblackwell]

I'm not sure I mentioned this here or not, but Gregg Geist has done some fairly decent Cassini image processing. I also recommend this RGB composite image of Dione and Saturn, which was processed by Doug Ellison, who runs the Mars Exploration Rover Forum.

 

[alexblackwell]

Though it's not really related to Titan <i>per se</i>, some might be interested in today's EurekAlert release: "Saturn System driven by ice, says University of Colorado researcher."

 

[alexblackwell]

CU 'eyes' to examine Titan as probe begins momentous Xmas journey<br />Larry Klaes<br />Cornell News<br />December 16, 2004

 

[alexblackwell]

<i>Though it's not really related to Titan <i>per se</i>, some might be interested in today's EurekAlert release: "Saturn System driven by ice, says University of Colorado researcher."</i><br /><br />This refers to the following paper, which is part of a forthcoming special issue of <i>Science</i> reporting the initial Cassini results, published online today in <i>Science Express</i> Reports:<br /><br /><b>Ultraviolet Imaging Spectroscopy Shows an Active Saturnian System</b><br />Larry W. Esposito, <i>et al.</i> <br />Published online December 16 2004; 10.1126/science.1105606 (<i>Science Express</i> Reports)<br />Abstract<br />Supporting Online Material<br /><br />Another Cassini-related paper was also published online today in <i>Science Express</i> Reports:<br /><br /><b>Radio and Plasma Wave Observations at Saturn from Cassini's Approach and First Orbit</b><br />D. A. Gurnett, <i>et al.</i> <br />Published online December 16 2004; 10.1126/science.1105356 (<i>Science Express</i> Reports)<br />Abstract

 

[alexblackwell]

New Clouds Add to Titan's Mystery<br />Gemini Observatory<br />Wednesday, 15 December 2004

 

[alexblackwell]

Several newly released images of Titan and Dione are now available via the Cassini-Huygens Titan-B and Dione Flyby web page.

 

[alexblackwell]

Cassini Shows Before And After Look At Saturn's Moon Titan<br />Jet Propulsion Laboratory<br />December 16, 2004

 

[centsworth_II]

Does Titan's haze extend all the way to the ground?<br /><br />I found this comment in the latest edition of The Planetary Report, <br />a publication of the Planetary Society.<br /><br /><font color="yellow">"...our models indicate that the bottom of Titan's haze is approximately 70km (44 miles) <br />from the surface." -- Martin Tomasko (decent imagery principal investigator)</font><br /><br />If this is true, we should get nice clear images of the surface, <br />and starting at a fairly high altitude too! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[alexblackwell]

Engineer's thoughts drift toward Saturnian moon<br />By Jim Erickson, Rocky Mountain News<br />December 18, 2004