Porco et al. 2005
Porco, C.C., E. Baker, J. Barbara, K. Beurle, A. Brahic, J.A. Burns, S. Charnoz, N. Cooper, D.D. Dawson, A.D. Del Genio, T. Denk, L. Dones, U. Dyudina, M.W. Evans, S. Fussner, B. Giese, K. Grazier, P. Helfenstein, A.P. Ingersoll, R.A. Jacobson, T.V. Johnson, A. McEwen, C.D. Murray, G. Neukum, W.M. Owen, J. Perry, T. Roatsch, J. Spitale, S. Squyres, P. Thomas, M. Tiscareno, E. Turtle, A.R. Vasavada, J. Veverka, R. Wagner, and R. West, 2005: Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft. Nature, 434, 159-168, doi:10.1038/nature03436.
Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only satellite in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere. The atmosphere is poorly understood and obscures the surface, leading to intense speculation about Titan's nature. Here we present observations of Titan from the imaging science experiment onboard the Cassini spacecraft that address some of these issues. The images reveal intricate surface albedo features that suggest aeolian, tectonic and fluvial processes; they also show a few circular features that could be impact structures. These observations imply that substantial surface modification has occurred over Titan's history. We have not directly detected liquids on the surface to date. Convective clouds are found to be common near the south pole, and the motion of mid-latitude clouds consistently indicates eastward winds, from which we infer that the troposphere is rotating faster than the surface. A detached haze at an altitude of 500 km is 150-200 km higher than that observed by Voyager, and more tenuous haze layers are also resolved.
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Porco, C.C., Baker, E., Barbara, J., Beurle, K., Brahic, A., Burns, J.A., Charnoz, S., Cooper, N., Dawson, D.D., Del Genio, A.D., Denk, T., Dones, L., Dyudina, U., Evans, M.W., Fussner, S., Giese, B., Grazier, K., Helfenstein, P., Ingersoll, A.P., Jacobson, R.A., Johnson, T.V., McEwen, A., Murray, C.D., Neukum, G., Owen, W.M., Perry, J., Roatsch, T., Spitale, J., Squyres, S., Thomas, P., Tiscareno, M., Turtle, E., Vasavada, A.R., Veverka, J., Wagner, R., and West, R.: Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft, Nature, 434, 159-168, doi:10.1038/nature03436, 2005.
Porco, C.C., E. Baker, J. Barbara, K. Beurle, A. Brahic, J.A. Burns, S. Charnoz, N. Cooper, D.D. Dawson, A.D. Del Genio, T. Denk, L. Dones, U. Dyudina, M.W. Evans, S. Fussner, B. Giese, K. Grazier, P. Helfenstein, A.P. Ingersoll, R.A. Jacobson, T.V. Johnson, A. McEwen, C.D. Murray, G. Neukum, W.M. Owen, J. Perry, T. Roatsch, J. Spitale, S. Squyres, P. Thomas, M. Tiscareno, E. Turtle, A.R. Vasavada, J. Veverka, R. Wagner, and R. West (2005), Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft, Nature, 434, 159-168, doi:10.1038/nature03436.
Porco, C.C., E. Baker, J. Barbara, K. Beurle, A. Brahic, J.A. Burns, S. Charnoz, N. Cooper, D.D. Dawson, A.D. Del Genio, T. Denk, L. Dones, U. Dyudina, M.W. Evans, S. Fussner, B. Giese, K. Grazier, P. Helfenstein, A.P. Ingersoll, R.A. Jacobson, T.V. Johnson, A. McEwen, C.D. Murray, G. Neukum, W.M. Owen, J. Perry, T. Roatsch, J. Spitale, S. Squyres, P. Thomas, M. Tiscareno, E. Turtle, A.R. Vasavada, J. Veverka, R. Wagner, and R. West, 2005: Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft. Nature, 434, 159-168, doi:10.1038/nature03436.
Porco, C.C., et al. 2005, Nature, 434, 159, doi:10.1038/nature03436.
Porco CC, Baker E, Barbara J, Beurle K, Brahic A, Burns JA, Charnoz S, Cooper N, Dawson DD, Del Genio AD, Denk T, Dones L, Dyudina U, Evans MW, Fussner S, Giese B, Grazier K, Helfenstein P, Ingersoll AP, Jacobson RA, Johnson TV, McEwen A, Murray CD, Neukum G, Owen WM, Perry J, Roatsch T, Spitale J, Squyres S, Thomas P, Tiscareno M, Turtle E, Vasavada AR, Veverka J, Wagner R, West R. Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft, Nature 2005;434:159-168. doi:10.1038/nature03436.
C.C. Porco, E. Baker, J. Barbara, K. Beurle, A. Brahic, J.A. Burns, S. Charnoz, N. Cooper, D.D. Dawson, A.D. Del Genio, T. Denk, L. Dones, U. Dyudina, M.W. Evans, S. Fussner, B. Giese, K. Grazier, P. Helfenstein, A.P. Ingersoll, R.A. Jacobson, T.V. Johnson, A. McEwen, C.D. Murray, G. Neukum, W.M. Owen, J. Perry, T. Roatsch, J. Spitale, S. Squyres, P. Thomas, M. Tiscareno, E. Turtle, A.R. Vasavada, J. Veverka, R. Wagner, R. West, Nature 434, 159-168, doi:10.1038/nature03436 (2005).
