Cassini at Titan Again

Probably there are images like this of Titan every time Cassini makes another pass. This week marks the 36th time since the start of the mission the spacecraft has visited the large Saturnian moon. So these images are probably similar to the other 35 times Cassini snapped some RGB filtered images, but we are hoping to score a more traditional “portrait” of Titan one day that isn’t another crescent image. Titan Backlit

The first image is similar to one that we currently use as the “portrait” wallpaper for Titan (seen here). That one is starting to look a bit fake in the purple hazes while this new one seems to be a bit more believable. You can see the thickness of the atmosphere when the Sun is directly behind Titan, which tends to be one of the more interesting ways to view this world. Also visible is what always appears to be a “break” in the uniformity of the haze at the lower-left corner (You can also see a similar break on the next image on the lower-right).

A More Proper Titan Portrait by wanderingspace.net

This second one is a more true “portrait” image of Titan in all its featureless glory (have we mentioned how much it just looks like Venus?). The difference here is you can really get a sense of the moon being “wrapped” in its atmosphere on the upper-right hand side where it almost seems like you are peering through the haze to another layer just below.