Composite DISR Image of Titan
Date: 14 January 2005
Satellite: Huygens
Depicts: 360-degree view of Titan from 8 km altitude
Copyright: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
This composite was produced from images returned 14 January 2005, by ESA's Huygens probe during its successful descent to land on Titan. It shows a full 360-degree view around Huygens.
The left-hand side, behind Huygens, shows a boundary between light and dark areas. The white streaks seen near this boundary could be ground 'fog' of methane or ethane vapour, as they were not immediately visible from higher altitudes.
As the probe descended, it drifted over a plateau (centre of image) and was heading towards its landing site in a dark area (right). This dark area is possibly a drainage channel which might still contain liquid material. From the drift of the probe, the wind speed has been estimated at around 6-7 metres per second.
These images were taken from an altitude of about 8 kilometres with a resolution of about 20 metres per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project between NASA, ESA and Italy's ASI space agency.
