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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Xanadu: Rivers Flowed onto a Sunless Sea
Title
Xanadu: Rivers Flowed onto a Sunless Sea
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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This image from the Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument on the Cassini spacecraft shows the radar-bright western margin of Xanadu, one of the most prominent features on Titan (see also PIA08425). In radar images, bright regions indicate a rough or scattering material, while a dark region might be smoother or more absorbing. The image was taken during a flyby of Titan on April 30, 2006. Narrow, sinuous, radar-bright channels, meandering like a maze, are seen on the right-hand-side of the image. These may be river networks that might have flowed onto the dark areas on the left of the image. Vast, dark areas covered by dunes are seen on the equatorial regions of Titan (see PIA03567) and have been referred to as Titan's "sand seas." Near the middle of the image is a radar-bright area that has a boundary with the dark sand seas. Because the radar illumination is coming from the top, this indicates that the bright region, Xanadu, is topographically higher than the sand seas. 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.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
This image from the Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument on the Cassini spacecraft shows the radar-bright western margin of Xanadu, one of the most prominent features on Titan (see also PIA08425). In radar images, bright regions indicate a rough or scattering material, while a dark region might be smoother or more absorbing. The image was taken during a flyby of Titan on April 30, 2006. Narrow, sinuous, radar-bright channels, meandering like a maze, are seen on the right-hand-side of the image. These may be river networks that might have flowed onto the dark areas on the left of the image. Vast, dark areas covered by dunes are seen on the equatorial regions of Titan (see PIA03567) and have been referred to as Titan's "sand seas." Near the middle of the image is a radar-bright area that has a boundary with the dark sand seas. Because the radar illumination is coming from the top, this indicates that the bright region, Xanadu, is topographically higher than the sand seas. 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. Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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JPL
Produced_By
JPL
Produced By
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Mission:
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Cassini
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Spacecraft:
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Cassini Orbiter
Spacecraft
Cassini Orbiter
Spacecraft
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Target Name:
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Titan
Target_Name
Titan
Target Name
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Is a satellite of:
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Saturn
Is_a_satellite_of
Saturn
Is a satellite of
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Instrument:
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Radar Mapper
Instrument
Radar Mapper
Instrument
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Product Size:
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3289 samples x 1767 lines
Product_Size
3289 samples x 1767 lines
Product Size
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Primary Data Set:
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Cassini
Primary_Data_Set
Cassini
Primary Data Set
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facet_what:
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Saturn
facet_what
Saturn
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cassini
facet_what
Cassini
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Titan
facet_what
Titan
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cassini Orbiter
facet_what
Cassini Orbiter
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Huygens Probe
facet_what
Huygens Probe
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cassini-Huygens
facet_what
Cassini-Huygens
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Radar Mapper
facet_what
Radar Mapper
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Saturn
facet_where
Saturn
facet_where
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facet_where:
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California
facet_where
California
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington
facet_where
Washington
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
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facet_where:
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United States of America
facet_where
United States of America
facet_where
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facet_when:
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April 30, 2006
facet_when
April 30, 2006
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2006
facet_when_year
2006
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA08428
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08428
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08428
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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