The Cassini spacecraft has used its visual and infrared mapping spectrometer
to reveal Titan's exotic surface. These images show the moon's southern
hemisphere surface to be covered with a variety of materials.
Using near-infrared colors--some three times deeper in the red visible to
the human eye--these images reveal the surface with unusual clarity.
The left image shows a variety of surface features at a wavelength of 2.0
microns. The darker areas are possibly regions of relatively pure water ice,
while the brighter regions likely have a much higher amount of non-ice
materials such as simple hydrocarbons.
The middle image measured at a wavelength of 2.8 microns shows a very dark
surface almost everywhere, as expected for a surface of water ice and simple
hydrocarbons.
The image on the right, taken at 5.0 microns, is similar to the left image,
indicating dark icy regions and brighter hydrocarbon-rich materials.
A bright cloud of methane particles is apparent in all three images near the
moon's South Pole. It's persistence over an extensive range of colors
indicates that these cloud particles are large compared to the typical haze
particles surrounding the planet, suggesting a dynamically active atmosphere
near Titan's South Pole. Color was used to enhance the various wavelengths.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
