spacetoday.net: Cassini sees cloud formation on Titan

Posted: Mon, Dec 20, 2004, 8:38 AM ET (1338 GMT)
Titan haze layers seen by Cassini (NASA/JPL)

Images of Titan taken by the Cassini spacecraft last week show cloud formations not seen during a flyby less than two months earlier, project scientists announced. Cassini passed with 1,200 km of Titan's surface during a flyby on December 13, the second close pass by Saturn's largest moon. Images taken during this flyby showed several extensive patches of clouds in mid-latitude regions of the moon; images taken during an October flyby showed no clouds anywhere in the atmosphere except near the south pole. The new cloud formations will allow scientists to measure wind speeds and directions in that region in the atmosphere not previously possible. In a separate study, astronomers using groundbased telescopes have detected similar cloud formations in Titan's atmosphere, appearing intermittently throughout the year. The Cassini images also showed fine features that could be impact-related surface features, although no definitive impact craters have yet been observed.