Cassini image of Titan. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Here’s a very nice image from the Cassini spacecraft of Saturn’s moon Titan.  The line cutting across the picture is Saturn’s rings.

One of the reasons I like this image is the very nice look at the dark areas on the moon, our usual view is cloud shrouded.  This view is possible because the camera used a spectral filter sensitive of the near-infrared light which cuts through the clouds.

Titan is an amazing place.  The moon is about half again as large as our moon and 80 percent more massive, in fact it is larger than Mercury although Mercury with its cool make up has a mass nearly twice Titan. It is the only moon with a substantial atmosphere and other than Earth it is the only place we know of so far that holds stable bodies surface liquid.  The moon is much too cold to have liquid water and instead it rains methane.  Can life exist on Titan and/or in its methane seas?  Could be, although it will likely be a long time before we find out.  Life there would be very cool indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Site update:

Part 2 was completed today.  So far, so good

Don’t forget to order the Pigeon constellation shirt if you are going to because today is the sale – See Tuesday’s post.