| Piú votate - Titan: The "Foggy" Moon |
Titan-PIA08211.jpgIn the lights: Titan, Janus and the Rings...64 visiteCaption NASA:"Dazzling Titan glows with a 360° Sunset as light scatters through its very extended atmosphere. Some structure is visible in the hazes of the Northern Polar Hood.
To the left is Janus (181 Km, or 113 miles across), far off on the opposite side of the Ring-Plane. The Rings show their unlit side to Cassini, as the spacecraft viewed them from slightly above the ringplane.
A world with strikingly Earth-like physical processes, frigid Titan is Saturn's largest natural satellite, at 5.150 Km (about 3.200 miles) across. Titan's image is saturated (cosiddetto "effetto goccia di luce") at the 5 o'clock position.
The view was acquired in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on June 2, 2006 at a distance of approx. 2,3 MKM (such as about 1,5 MMs) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 163°. Cassini was 3,7 MKM (about 2,3 MMs) from Janus. Image scale is roughly 14 Km (about 9 miles) per pixel on Titan and approx. 22 Km (about 14 miles) on Janus".
(4 voti)
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Titan_and_Rhea-N00062458.jpgObscuring the Sun...56 visiteCaption originale:"N00062458.jpg was taken on June 11, 2006 and received on Earth June 12, 2006. The camera was pointing toward Rhea that, at the time, was approximately 3.617.336 Km away.
The image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters".
(4 voti)
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Titan_and_Saturn-PIA08196.jpgFather and Son55 visiteCaption originale:"Cassini's Eyes - such as its powerful imaging cameras -- bear witness to the majestic and spectacular sights of the Saturn System, as this views attests. Here, the probe gazes upon Titan in the distance beyond Saturn and its dark and graceful Rings.
This view was taken from above the Ring-Plane and looks toward the unlit side of the Rings.
The image was taken using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of infrared light centered at 938 nnmts.
The image was obtained using the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 10, 2006 at a distance of approx. 2,9 MKM (such as about 1,8 MMs) from Saturn and 4,1 MKM (about 2,6 MMs) from Titan.
The image was taken at a phase angle of 149°.
Image scale is about 17 Km (roughly 11 miles) per pixel on Saturn".
(4 voti)
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Titan-Craters-Guabonito_Crater-PIA08425.jpgGuabonito Crater66 visiteThis image of Saturn's moon Titan from the Synthetic Aperture Radar Instrument on the Cassini spacecraft shows the South-Western area of a feature called Xanadu (bottom right of the image). The area is bright because it reflects the radio wavelengths used to make this radar images and this image was taken on April 30, 2006. Xanadu is one of the most prominent features on Titan and was first seen in ground-based observations. The origin of Xanadu is still unknown, but this radar image reveals details previously unseen, such as numerous curvy features that may indicate fluid flows. Linear dark streaks visible in radar-dark areas are dune fields, also seen in previous radar images.
Near the center of the image is a prominent circular feature, named Guabonito, about 90 Km (about 56 miles) in diameter. It might be an impact crater or a cryovolcanic caldera. If this is an impact structure, the absence of an ejecta blanket suggests that the feature has been highly eroded, like some impact structures on Earth, or has been buried by the dune fields. Other radar-bright areas (top left and top right) appear to be topographically high and might act as obstacles, diverting the dunes around them".
(4 voti)
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Titan-Regions-Shikoku_Facula-PIA08426.jpgThe Brightest Region of Titan: Shikoku Facula62 visiteCaption NASA originale:"This image of Saturn's moon Titan from the Synthetic Aperture Radar Instrument on the Cassini spacecraft shows Shikoku Facula, a Region that is bright in both radar and visible wavelengths. This radar image was taken on April 30, 2006.
A circular feature with a radar-dark interior, probably an impact crater, is seen near the top of the image and is about 35 Km (about 22 miles) in diameter.
Numerous linear dark features are seen running across the image, mostly on the right-hand side. These features were seen on other radar images and interpreted as dune fields. Bright, ridge-like features mainly on the lower half of the image may be topographically "High Regions" (qualcosa di simile alle HighLands della Scozia). Radar-dark, thin, sinuous features, which may be channels draining from the bright to the dark Regions, are seen below the circular feature".
(4 voti)
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Titan-PIA08167.jpgTitan's foggy Northern "Cap" (Original NASA/JPL/SSI b/w RAW Frame)56 visiteCaption NASA:"The complex and dynamic Atmosphere of Titan displays multiple Haze Layers near the North Pole in this view, which also provides an excellent look at the detached Stratospheric Haze Layer that surrounds the moon at lower Latitudes.
North on Titan is up and rotated 20° to the left.
The image was taken with the Cassini Spacecraft narrow-angle camera on March 16, 2006, using a filter sensitive to wavelengths of UltraViolet Light centered at 338 nanometers. The image was obtained at a distance of approx. 1,2 MKM (about 800.000 miles) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-Spacecraft, or Phase, Angle of 68°. Image scale is approx. 7 Km (such as about 5 miles) per pixel".
(4 voti)
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Titan-N00055573.jpgWhat's happening on Titan? (8)56 visiteA dire il vero, qualcosa - nella zona in cui il fenomeno si era manifestato inizialmente - sarà ancora visibile in alcuni dei frames successivi al n. N00055569.jpg ma - onestamente - ci è impossibile dire (usando i nostri mezzi) se il debole punto chiaro che sembra ancora vedersi è un residuo del fenomeno iniziale (e cioè una fase diversa del medesimo evento) oppure se si tratta solo di un difetto dell'immagine, di un pixel "cattivo" o di chissà cosa d'altro.
Caption NASA:"N00055573.jpg was taken on March 20, 2006 and received on Earth March 20, 2006. The camera was pointing toward Titan that, at the time, was 977.035 Km away.
The image was taken using the P60 and CB1 filters"".
(4 voti)
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Titan-N00055570.jpgWhat's happening on Titan? (7)57 visiteE come l'Anomalìa era apparsa (improvvisamente), così essa scompare, dopo essere stata ripresa per svariati frames.
La "sparizione" sarà dipesa dal cambio di filtro o da altre motivazioni che, al momento, ci sfuggono? Voi che ne dite? Che cosa abbiamo realmente guardato?...
Caption NASA:"N00055570.jpg was taken on March 20, 2006 and received on Earth March 20, 2006. The camera was pointing toward Titan that, at the time, was approximately 974.967 Km away.
The image was taken using the P120 and GRN filters".
(4 voti)
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Titan-N00055568.jpgWhat's happening on Titan? (5)56 visiteCaption NASA:"N00055568.jpg was taken on March 20, 2006 and received on Earth March 20, 2006. The camera was pointing toward Titan that, at the time, was approximately 974.091 Km away.
The image was taken using the P60 and BL2 filters".
Nota: le nostre ipotesi, se non fossimo in presenza di un photoartifact, sono fondamentalmente due.
Si potrebbe trattare di una (gigantesca) Volcanic Plume (sul tipo di quelle riscontrate sulla luna Gioviana "Io") oppure di una nuvola anomala (ed anch'essa gigantesca), colonnare, molto brillante (siamo a quasi un 1 MKM di distanza e già riusciamo a vederla!...) e, come ovvio, del tutto inesplicabile.
Abbiamo un frame relativo ad una formazione nuvolosa anomala anche su Marte (Sez. Mars in Colors), ma la distanza da cui la ripresa era stata effettuata non è neppure lontanamente comparabile a quella che invece divide Cassini da Titano, in questo frame.
(4 voti)
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Titan-N00055565.jpgWhat's happening on Titan? (2)65 visiteCaption NASA:"N00055565.jpg was taken on March 20, 2006 and received on Earth March 20, 2006. The camera was pointing toward Titan that, at the time, was approximately 972.114 Km away.
The image was taken using the P60 and UV3 filters".
(4 voti)
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Titan-PIA08137.jpgHaze-layers and a bright "spot", from 2,3 MKM!55 visiteLe nebbie di Titano sono ormai una realtà acquisita e consolidata, ma le Singolarità Atmosferiche (non sappiamo come altro chiamarle, per ora...) che la Sonda Cassini, di tanto in tanto, riesce a fotografare mentre si sporgono attraverso le nuvole di questo pianeta, costituiscono ancora un mistero. In questo frame, cerchiato in bianco, un "qualcosa" che emerge dalla densa atmosfera di Titano e che non è stato censurato dagli "Amici di Pasadena". Non si tratta, per ovvi motivi, di un rilievo superficiale e non è neppure un photoartifact (ormai avete anche Voi esperienza sufficiente per riconoscere "ictu oculi" un artefatto fotografico da un oggetto reale).
E' una Sonda Aliena in ricognizione? E' una "plume" vulcanica o magari una "nuvola colonnare" (evento più unico che raro nell'intero Sistema Solare)?
Che cosa stiamo guardando, in realtà?!?...
This composite of 24 images from the Cassini spacecraft shows multiple layers in Titan's stratospheric haze. The most prominent layer is located about 500 Km above the surface and is seen at all latitudes, encircling the moon. The material in this layer is probably a condensed substance, possibly water ice.
Several other layers are most apparent in the north polar hood (at top), but this view also shows some at other latitudes. The mechanisms that produce these layers are not understood, but waves in the atmosphere are thought to play a significant role.
The images in this composite were taken over a period of 23 minutes. The images were processed to enhance fine detail and then were combined to create this view. North on Titan (5,150 kilometers, or 3,200 miles across) is up.
The images were taken in visible light with the narrow-angle camera on Jan. 27, 2006 at a distance of approximately 2.3 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 155 degrees. Image scale is 13 kilometers (8 miles) per pixel.
(4 voti)
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Titan-W00013655.jpgThe "bright light" is gone57 visiteFrame immediatamente successivo a quello che evidenziava un luce bianca e brillante (8 pixels) negli strati superiori dell'atmosfera di Titano: ora tutto appare "normale". Si trattava dunque di un photoartifact o di un oggetto reale?
Caption originale:"W00013655.jpg was taken on February 27, 2006 and received on Earth February 27, 2006. The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 32.110 Km away, and the image was taken using the CB3 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated".
(4 voti)
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