A Detailed Image of the Clouds around Titan

NASA has managed to capture detailed photos of the clouds around Titan, Saturn’s moon. The methane clouds floating around Titan look spectacular. The Cassini rover, sent by NASA to analyze the system of Saturn, was able to capture very accurate images of this magnificent phenomenon. The spaceship registered a footage which explicitly shows the formation and the movement of these clouds.

• NASA’s Cassini rover is currently analyzing the methane clouds around Titan.
• This phenomenon unveils more data about the climate of Titan.

On the video, specialists were able to saw how the clouds had disappeared after floating around the planet for 11 hours. The most salient clouds are grouped in streaks that measure between 49 and 55 degrees north latitude. NASA’s astronomers have observed that the region where cloud activity is the most conspicuous remains over the entire time span. The striking event is that the clouds which appear individually evolve and then fade away.

These clouds seem to move at the speed which measures approximately 14 to 22 miles per hour. The new data disclosed that what we previously knew about the climate of Titan needed to receive some updates. The previous records which NASA had were demonstrating that the cloud phenomenon had a decreased activity compared to the new information stored by Cassini.

This discovery about the clouds around Titan was made on October 29 and October 30. The footage was structured after conjoining a set of captures, one taken at every twenty minutes. The frequency of the pictures was bound to observe the movement of the clouds, confirming their variation, and also implying their disappearance.

The narrow-angle camera of Cassini was designed to capture detailed images, helping astronomers make predictions about the climate and the atmosphere on Titan. The camera which was equipped with infrared filters were prone to determine the tropospheric and surface methane clouds around Titan. The new understanding regarding the cloud activity on Titan indicates that the changing of the seasons is not complete.

Saturn’s giant moon, Titan, is known to be the only moon from the solar system which displays a dense atmosphere similar to our planet’s air and the formation of clouds. The clouds on our planet form as a consequence of the evaporation of the water which condenses at high levels. Titan’s clouds have the same process of formation, but instead of vaporized water, they involve methane.

The Cassini rover is bound to continue its analysis there until September 2017 when it will completely end its mission, fading away in cosmos.

Image source: wikipedia