The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. 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-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The coverage shown in the video spans from 50 degrees north latitude, almost to the pole, where a small triangular gap in coverage misses the exact pole. The resolution of the radar data varies from several kilometers to as fine as 300 meters (984 feet). Some features that resemble lakes with no liquid may be remnants that have already dried as the northern winter fades into spring. The animation shows all radar swaths, and zooms in for a close look at the many complex shapes the lakes take. The spacecraft is seen approaching the planet with a nodding motion as its antenna scans the moon's surface, turning to keep its target in sight.
EVIDENCE OF NASA ASTEROID WATCH MOVIE
The movie begins with an illustration of the relative orbits of Titan and Cassini, both circling Saturn. The areas believed to be composed of liquids are shown in blue as an aid to interpretation. The mosaic reveals the extent of the lakes, their shapes and interconnections. It combines radar swaths seen on several Titan passes: J(T16) Sept. This high-definition video offers a trip through the north polar area just as Cassini radar saw it. New calculations put the odds at 1 in 1,750, a figure slightly higher than previously thought. Recently NASA updated its forecast of the chances that the asteroid Bennu, one of the two most hazardous known objects in our solar system, will hit Earth in the next 300 years. Analysis of the data indicates that the bodies of liquid may be tens of meters in depth. Even Harry Stamper would probably like these odds. and Canadian border, whose area is 82,000 square kilometers (about 32,000 square miles).
These seas cover an area about 100,000 square kilometers (about 39,000 square miles), larger than the largest Great Lake, Lake Superior, near the U.S. These new observations of the north polar area show how extensive and widespread these lakes are, and reveal at least one body of liquid that might rightly be called a sea. The discovery of numerous lakes near Titan's north pole by the Cassini radar instrument in July 2006 has confirmed the latter idea, and indicates an apparent preference during the current season for liquids to be located near the north pole. Subsequently, disconnected lakes or seas were predicted. Pre-Cassini observations from the 1980s indicated that something on Titan's surface must be re-supplying the methane to its atmosphere. These seas are most likely liquid methane and ethane.įor more than two decades, scientists have debated whether liquids on Titan exist, and if so, where they would be located. They offer strong evidence that larger bodies seen in infrared images are, in fact, seas. These images show that many of the features commonly associated with lakes on Earth, such as islands, bays, inlets and channels, are also present on this cold Saturnian moon. This movie, comprised of several detailed images taken by Cassini's radar instrument, shows bodies of liquid near Titan's north pole.
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