%0 Journal Article %1 Porco2005 %A Porco, C. C. %A Baker, E. %A Barbara, J. %A Beurle, K. %A Brahic, A. %A Burns, J. A. %A Charnoz, S. %A Cooper, N. %A Dawson, D. D. %A Genio, A. D. Del %A Denk, T. %A Dones, L. %A Dyudina, U. %A Evans, M. W. %A Fussner, S. %A Giese, B. %A Grazier, K. %A Helfenstein, P. %A Ingersoll, A. P. %A Jacobson, R. A. %A Johnson, T. V. %A McEwen, A. %A Murray, C. D. %A Neukum, G. %A Owen, W. M. %A Perry, J. %A Roatsch, T. %A Spitale, J. %A Squyres, S. %A Thomas, P. %A Tiscareno, M. %A Turtle, E. P. %A Vasavada, A. R. %A Veverka, J. %A Wagner, R. %A West, R. %D 2005 %J Nature %K ATMOSPHERE; CLOUDS; GRAVITY-WAVES; IMAGES; OCCULTATION SIMULATIONS; SUPERROTATION; SURFACE; TEMPERATURE; TROPOSPHERIC VENUS; %N 7030 %P 159--168 %T Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft %V 434 %X Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only satellite in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere. The atmosphere is poorly understood and obscures the surface, leading to intense speculation about Titan's nature. Here we present observations of Titan from the imaging Science experiment onboard the Cassini spacecraft that address some of these issues. The images reveal intricate surface albedo features that suggest aeolian, tectonic and fluvial processes; they also show a few circular features that could be impact structures. These observations imply that substantial surface modification has occurred over Titan's history. We have not directly detected liquids on the surface to date. Convective clouds are found to be common near the south pole, and the motion of mid-latitude clouds consistently indicates eastward winds, from which we infer that the troposphere is rotating faster than the surface. A detached haze at an altitude of 500 km is 150200 km higher than that observed by Voyager, and more tenuous haze layers are also resolved.

@article{Porco2005, abstract = {Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is the only satellite in the Solar System with a substantial atmosphere. The atmosphere is poorly understood and obscures the surface, leading to intense speculation about Titan's nature. Here we present observations of Titan from the imaging Science experiment onboard the Cassini spacecraft that address some of these issues. The images reveal intricate surface albedo features that suggest aeolian, tectonic and fluvial processes; they also show a few circular features that could be impact structures. These observations imply that substantial surface modification has occurred over Titan's history. We have not directly detected liquids on the surface to date. Convective clouds are found to be common near the south pole, and the motion of mid-latitude clouds consistently indicates eastward winds, from which we infer that the troposphere is rotating faster than the surface. A detached haze at an altitude of 500 km is 150200 km higher than that observed by Voyager, and more tenuous haze layers are also resolved.}, added-at = {2009-11-03T20:21:25.000+0100}, author = {Porco, C. C. and Baker, E. and Barbara, J. and Beurle, K. and Brahic, A. and Burns, J. A. and Charnoz, S. and Cooper, N. and Dawson, D. D. and Genio, A. D. Del and Denk, T. and Dones, L. and Dyudina, U. and Evans, M. W. and Fussner, S. and Giese, B. and Grazier, K. and Helfenstein, P. and Ingersoll, A. P. and Jacobson, R. A. and Johnson, T. V. and McEwen, A. and Murray, C. D. and Neukum, G. and Owen, W. M. and Perry, J. and Roatsch, T. and Spitale, J. and Squyres, S. and Thomas, P. and Tiscareno, M. and Turtle, E. P. and Vasavada, A. R. and Veverka, J. and Wagner, R. and West, R.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/223bd436a2580ab36e5a7e035de26cdf7/svance}, citedreferences = {ALLISON M, 1994, J ATMOS SCI, V51, P694 ; BOUCHEZ A, 2005, KECK OBSERVATORY TIT ; BROWN ME, 2002, Nature, V420, P795 ; CAMPBELL DB, 2003, Science, V302, P431 ; COUSTENIS A, 2001, Icarus, V154, P501 ; CROFT SK, 1988, Icarus, V73, P279 ; DELGENIO AD, 1993, Icarus, V101, P1 ; DELGENIO AD, 1996, Icarus, V120, P332 ; DIMITROV V, 2003, Icarus, V166, P440 ; DOBROVOLSKIS AR, 2004, Icarus, V169, P462 ; FLASAR FM, 1981, Nature, V292, P693 ; FRIEDSON AJ, 1994, Icarus, V109, P40 ; GIBBARD SG, 2004, Icarus, V169, P429 ; GRIFFITH CA, 1991, Icarus, V93, P362 ; GRIFFITH CA, 1998, Nature, V395, P575 ; GRIFFITH CA, 2003, Science, V300, P628 ; HINSON DP, 1983, Icarus, V54, P337 ; HOURDIN F, 1995, Icarus, V117, P358 ; HUTZELL WT, 1996, Icarus, V119, P112 ; KHARE BN, 1978, Science, V199, P1199 ; KORYCANSKY DG, IN PRESS PLANET SPAC ; LEMMON M, 2004, 35 COSPAR SCI ASS PA ; LEMMON MT, UNPUB Icarus ; LORENZ RD, 1994, PLANET SPACE SCI, V42, P1 ; LORENZ RD, 2005, IN PRESS PLANET SPAC ; LUNINE JI, 1983, Science, V222, P1229 ; LUNINE JI, 1993, REV GEOPHYS, V31, P133 ; LUNINE JI, 2002, SPACE SCI REV, V104, P191 ; MCKAY CP, 1997, Icarus, V129, P498 ; PERRON JT, 2004, GEOPHYS RES LETT, V31 ; PORCO CC, 2004, SPACE SCI REV, V115, P363 ; RAGES K, 1983, Icarus, V55, P50 ; RANNOU P, 2004, Icarus, V170, P443 ; RAULIN F, 2002, SPACE SCI REV, V104, P377 ; RICHARDSON J, 2004, Icarus, V170, P113 ; ROE HG, 2005, ASTROPHYS J 2, V618, L49 ; ROSSOW WB, 1990, J ATMOS SCI, V47, P2053 ; SAMUELSON RE, 1997, PLANET SPACE SCI, V45, P959 ; SICARDY B, 1999, Icarus, V142, P357 ; SMITH PH, 1996, Icarus, V119, P336 ; SOTIN C, UNPUB Nature ; STROBEL DF, 1982, PLANET SPACE SCI, V30, P839 ; TOKANO T, 2002, Icarus, V158, P499 ; WEST RA, 1991, Icarus, V90, P330 ; ZAHNLE K, 2003, Icarus, V163, P263}, interhash = {5786cc8cf170de68268280ec2905b081}, intrahash = {23bd436a2580ab36e5a7e035de26cdf7}, journal = {Nature}, keywords = {ATMOSPHERE; CLOUDS; GRAVITY-WAVES; IMAGES; OCCULTATION SIMULATIONS; SUPERROTATION; SURFACE; TEMPERATURE; TROPOSPHERIC VENUS;}, number = 7030, owner = {svance}, pages = {159--168}, timestamp = {2009-11-03T20:22:10.000+0100}, title = {Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft}, volume = 434, year = 2005 }