CICLOPS: Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for OPerationS
Clouds Over Ligeia Mare on Titan

Clouds Over Ligeia Mare on Titan
PIA 18420
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Clouds Over Ligeia Mare on Titan
PIA 18420
Avg Rating: 8.67/10

Full Size 727x727:
JPEG 158 KB
PNG 224 KB
TIFF 398 KB
   This animated sequence of Cassini images shows methane clouds moving above the large methane sea on Saturn's moon Titan known as Ligeia Mare.

The spacecraft captured the views between July 20 and July 22, 2014, as it departed Titan following a flyby. Cassini tracked the system of clouds as it developed and dissipated over Ligeia Mare during this two-day period. Measurements of the cloud motions indicate wind speeds of around 7 to 10 miles per hour (3 to 4.5 meters per second).

The timing between exposures in the sequence varies. In particular, there is a 17.5-hour jump between the second and third frames. Most other frames are separated by one to two hours.

A separate view, PIA18421, shows the location of these clouds relative to features in Titan's north polar region.

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: August 12, 2014 (PIA 18420)
Image/Caption Information