APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
The Surface of Titan
Explanation: If sailing the hydrocarbon seas of Titan , beware of gasoline rain. Such might be a travel advisory issued one future day for adventurers visiting Titan , the largest moon of Saturn . New images of Titan 's surface were released last week from the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope featuring the finest details yet resolved. Peering into Titan 's thick smog atmosphere with infrared light, complex features interpreted as oceans, glaciers , and rock became visible. The high-resolution infrared image pictured above was made possible using an unblurring technique called adaptive optics . The interplanetary probe Cassini will reach Saturn and Titan in 2004 to better explore this unusual world.
| Date | August 20, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Athena Coustenis ( DESPA ) et al., PUEO , CFHT |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |



