|
Collection:
|
|
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
|
|
Title:
|
|
Titan Crater in Three Views
Title
Titan Crater in Three Views
Title
|
|
Original Caption Released with Image:
|
Figure 1: Titan Crater in Three Views This three-panel image shows one of Titan's most prominent impact craters in an infrared-wavelength image (left), radar image (center) and in the false-color image (right). The Cassini radar imaged this crater during Cassini's third flyby of Titan, on Feb. 15, 2005, (see PIA07368). The crater, located at 16 degrees west, 11 degrees north, is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) in diameter and is surrounded beyond that by a blanket of material thrown out of the crater during impact. In radar, brighter surfaces mean rougher terrains, or else terrains tilted toward the radar. Two Titan flybys later, on April 16, the visual infrared mapping spectrometer on Cassini obtained images of the same crater. The panel on the left is an image at the 2.0 micron wavelength, showing that the crater has a dark floor and a small bright area in the center. The crater is surrounded by bright material, which has a very faint halo slightly darker than the surrounding dark material. Compare the radar image with the visual infrared mapping spectrometer image. Both the crater and the blanket of surrounding material (called ejecta) are bright at radar wavelengths; in the infrared, the crater itself is dark and this blanket of material is quite bright. In radar, the faint halo surrounding the blanket of material is quite similar in appearance to the rest of the ejecta blanket. The right hand panel is a false-color visual infrared mapping spectrometer image of the crater at lower resolution. It shows the faint halo to be slightly bluer than surrounding material. That the material is bluer than its surroundings, while also being darker, suggests that the faint halo is somewhat different in composition. This suggests that the composition of Titan's upper crust varies with depth, and various materials were excavated when the crater was formed. The same structure appearing so different to different instruments illustrates the importance of multiple instruments studying such phenomena. The Cassini spacecraft, being the most interdisciplinary spacecraft ever flown, strongly embodies such an approach. 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 mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, Tucson. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Figure 1: Titan Crater in Three Views This three-panel image shows one of Titan's most prominent impact craters in an infrared-wavelength image (left), radar image (center) and in the false-color image (right). The Cassini radar imaged this crater during Cassini's third flyby of Titan, on Feb. 15, 2005, (see PIA07368). The crater, located at 16 degrees west, 11 degrees north, is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) in diameter and is surrounded beyond that by a blanket of material thrown out of the crater during impact. In radar, brighter surfaces mean rougher terrains, or else terrains tilted toward the radar. Two Titan flybys later, on April 16, the visual infrared mapping spectrometer on Cassini obtained images of the same crater. The panel on the left is an image at the 2.0 micron wavelength, showing that the crater has a dark floor and a small bright area in the center. The crater is surrounded by bright material, which has a very faint halo slightly darker than the surrounding dark material. Compare the radar image with the visual infrared mapping spectrometer image. Both the crater and the blanket of surrounding material (called ejecta) are bright at radar wavelengths; in the infrared, the crater itself is dark and this blanket of material is quite bright. In radar, the faint halo surrounding the blanket of material is quite similar in appearance to the rest of the ejecta blanket. The right hand panel is a false-color visual infrared mapping spectrometer image of the crater at lower resolution. It shows the faint halo to be slightly bluer than surrounding material. That the material is bluer than its surroundings, while also being darker, suggests that the faint halo is somewhat different in composition. This suggests that the composition of Titan's upper crust varies with depth, and various materials were excavated when the crater was formed. The same structure appearing so different to different instruments illustrates the importance of multiple instruments studying such phenomena. The Cassini spacecraft, being the most interdisciplinary spacecraft ever flown, strongly embodies such an approach. 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 mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, Tucson. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov
Original Caption Released with Image
|
|
Original Caption Released with Image:
|
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Original Caption Released with Image
|
|
Image Credit:
|
|
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Image Credit
|
|
Produced By:
|
|
University of Arizona / LPL
Produced_By
University of Arizona / LPL
Produced By
|
|
Mission:
|
|
Cassini
|
|
Spacecraft:
|
|
Cassini Orbiter
Spacecraft
Cassini Orbiter
Spacecraft
|
|
Target Name:
|
|
Titan
Target_Name
Titan
Target Name
|
|
Is a satellite of:
|
|
Saturn
Is_a_satellite_of
Saturn
Is a satellite of
|
|
Instrument:
|
|
Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
Instrument
Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer
Instrument
|
|
Instrument:
|
|
Radar Imager
Instrument
Radar Imager
Instrument
|
|
Product Size:
|
|
750 samples x 196 lines
Product_Size
750 samples x 196 lines
Product Size
|
|
Primary Data Set:
|
|
Cassini
Primary_Data_Set
Cassini
Primary Data Set
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Crater
facet_what
Crater
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Spectrometer
facet_what
Spectrometer
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Saturn
facet_what
Saturn
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Cassini
facet_what
Cassini
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Titan
facet_what
Titan
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Imager
facet_what
Imager
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Cassini Orbiter
facet_what
Cassini Orbiter
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Huygens Probe
facet_what
Huygens Probe
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Cassini-Huygens
facet_what
Cassini-Huygens
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Radar Imager
facet_what
Radar Imager
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Titan (Saturn Moon)
facet_what
Titan (Saturn Moon)
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS)
facet_what
Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS)
facet_what
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Arizona
facet_where
Arizona
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Saturn
facet_where
Saturn
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
California
facet_where
California
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Washington
facet_where
Washington
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
United States of America
facet_where
United States of America
facet_where
|
|
Image #:
|
|
PIA07868
|
|
UID:
|
|
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA07868
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA07868
UID
|
|
orignial url:
|
orignial_url
orignial url
|
