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.

                               2020 August 20

                                Seeing Titan
          Image Credit: VIMS Team, U. Arizona, U. Nantes, ESA, NASA

   Explanation: Shrouded in a thick atmosphere, Saturn's largest moon
   Titan really is hard to see. Small particles suspended in the upper
   atmosphere cause an almost impenetrable haze, strongly scattering light
   at visible wavelengths and hiding Titan's surface features from prying
   eyes. But Titan's surface is better imaged at infrared wavelengths
   where scattering is weaker and atmospheric absorption is reduced.
   Arrayed around this visible light image (center) of Titan are some of
   the clearest global infrared views of the tantalizing moon so far. In
   false color, the six panels present a consistent processing of 13 years
   of infrared image data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping
   Spectrometer (VIMS) on board the Cassini spacecraft. They offer a
   stunning comparison with Cassini's visible light view.

   Experts Debate: How will humanity first discover extraterrestrial life?
                      Tomorrow's picture: unwinding M51
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.


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