Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Impact Craters on Xanadu
Original Caption Released with Image:
This image from the Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument on the Cassini spacecraft shows the radar-bright region Xanadu and two circular features interpreted to be degraded impact craters. In radar images, bright regions indicate a rough or scattering material, while a dark region might be smoother or more absorbing. The image was acquired during a flyby of Titan on April 30, 2006.

Near the top of the image is a 70-kilometer-wide (47-mile-wide) impact structure. In contrast to a similarly sized crater called Sinlap (see PIA07368), this crater shows a prominent central peak, indicating that the interaction between the impact and the crust was different in this region.

Near the bottom of the image is another circular feature with a dark central region that does not show evidence of a central peak. Numerous radar-bright channels cut across the image, indicating that liquids have flowed in this region.

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 was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, working with team members from the United States and several European countries.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL
Produced By:
JPL
Mission:
Cassini
Spacecraft:
Cassini Orbiter
Target Name:
Titan
Is a satellite of:
Saturn
Instrument:
Radar Mapper
Product Size:
1477 samples x 1448 lines
Primary Data Set:
Cassini
facet_what:
Crater
facet_what:
Saturn
facet_what:
Cassini
facet_what:
Titan
facet_what:
Cassini Orbiter
facet_what:
Huygens Probe
facet_what:
Cassini-Huygens
facet_what:
Radar Mapper
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where:
Saturn
facet_where:
California
facet_where:
Washington
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where:
Washington, D.C.
facet_where:
United States of America
facet_when:
April 30, 2006
facet_when_year:
2006
Image #:
PIA08429
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08429
orignial url:

Impact Craters on Xanadu