Dark Terrain on Titan
Date: 17 February 2005
Satellite: Cassini
Depicts: Radar strip of Titan surface
Copyright: NASA/JPL
Although most of the region observed by the Cassini radar instrument in the February close flyby of Titan is very different from the regions imaged in October, the area shown in this image appears quite similar.
Running about 300 kilometres from top to bottom, the image shows a complex of bright hills and ridges surrounded by a dark plain. In radar imaging, large dark expanses are either relatively smooth, or absorb radio waves effectively, or both. Seen more faintly in the dark plains are subtle features, the origins of which are unclear. These features have some resemblance to the features seen in the October flyby that were characterized as "cryovolcanic" meaning flows of warm ice, or mixtures of liquid water and ammonia.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
