Fact Sheet
Through the Haze
Astronomers got their best look yet at the surface of Titan on Tuesday when the Cassini spacecraft flew just 745 miles above Titan's cloudtops. Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, and its surface has remained hidden beneath a layer of orange haze that tops its thick, cold atmosphere. Cassini's camera system looked at Titan in wavelengths that are invisible to human eyes. In this image, which was compiled from four separate Cassini images, red and green represent infrared wavelengths, while blue represents the ultraviolet, and clearly shows Titan's atmosphere encircling the moon. Cassini will pass close to Titan again in December, and the European-built Huygens probe that Cassini carries will parachute through Titan's atmosphere in January. [NASA/JPL/SSI]
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