Cassini Image: Getting Closer To Titan

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Carolina Martinez (818) 354-9382
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

Heidi Finn (720) 974-5859
Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations
Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

Image Advisory: 2004-162 June 25, 2004

Getting Closer To Titan

Irregular bright and dark regions of yet unidentified composition and
character are becoming increasingly visible on Titan's surface as
Cassini approaches its scheduled first flyby of Saturn's largest moon
on July 2, 2004.

This view represents an improvement in resolution of nearly three
times over the previous Cassini images of Titan. Titan's surface is
difficult to study, veiled by a dense hydrocarbon haze that forms in
the high stratosphere as methane is destroyed by sunlight. This image
is different from previous Titan images by Cassini because it was
taken through a special filter, called a polarizer, which is designed
to see through the atmosphere to the surface.

Cassini will conduct a critical 96-minute burn before going into orbit
around Saturn on June 30 (July 1 Universal Time), with its first
scheduled flyby of Titan on July 2.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the
European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages the Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Office of
Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two
onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The
imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, visit
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and the Cassini imaging team home page,
http://ciclops.org .

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute