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This raw, unprocessed image of Dione was taken on December 12, 2011 and received on Earth December 12, 2011. The camera was pointing toward Dione at approximately 93062 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. The image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the Planetary Data System in 2012.
The Cassini Solstice Mission is a joint United States and European endeavor. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team consists of scientists from the US, England, France, and Germany. The imaging operations center and team lead (Dr. C. Porco) are based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini Solstice Mission visit http://ciclops.org, http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI
Released: December 12, 2011
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NeKto: Titan's atmosphere is about 200 hundreds kilometers deep and *I think* that includes the upper (bluish) haze layers but am not sure.
There certainly is a lot of "air" around that ice ball! the only atmosphere in our solar system that comes to mind for comparable depth and presure is Venus. very deep, a lot more presure, but a lot more gravity as well. To say nothing of way more heat.
1.5 atmospheres with Titan's gravity is one heck of a lot of gas. the "visible" atmosphere above the orange cloud deck is very deep to the unaided eye. are we talking hundreds of kilometers from detectable atmosphere to surface?
Welcome jaygee and all other new Alliance members! Hope you enjoy yourselves here. And to Nekto: The ratio of the depth of Titan's atmosphere to its radius is indeed large, because its gravity is weak compared to that of a larger body, like Earth's. Remember its surface pressure is about 50% greater than that of Earth's, which mean its atmosphere is substantial!
Just Become a member, so I'm Strapped in my seat & I'm Ready to Join other members for this Out of this World Journey, Hi Everybody....
I too feel like I'm there. And in a sense we are through Cassini which was only about 93,000 km from Dione at the time (less than 1/4 of the distance between the Earth and our Moon). By the way, the moon emerging from behind is Mimas (over 610,000 km away from Cassini). In raw image #3, Mimas is just going behind Dione. South is up.
kennyfrew; one of the things i find most amazing is what we see here is mostly water ice. not lava flow, ice and snow. it is mostly floe.
Wow! Are those lava flows? I feel like i'm there-Amazing.
