On March 31, 2005, just minutes after the Cassini spacecraft's closest approach to Titan during the Titan (T-4) Flyby, Cassini viewed Saturn peeking through Titan's thick atmosphere.
Saturn's rings are seen here casting dark, dramatic shadows across the planet's northern disk (upper left).
This composite is made of images that were taken by the Cassini spacecraft's camera system, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on March 31, 2005 and received on Earth April 1, 2005. Cassini was approximately 1,200,000 km away from Saturn and 7,000 km away from Titan. The images were taken using red, green, and blue filters.
Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / Ian Regan / Val Klavans
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On the upper left is a true color view of Titan. It shows what Titan looks like to the human eye. It is a composite of images taken through three filters that are sensitive to red, green and blue light. The moon's north polar hood is visible in this view.
The image on the upper right is a representation of what it would look like if you could see past Titan's atmosphere and down to its surface. The darker areas are vast hydrocarbon sand dunes and seas. Cassini uses its infrared filter to see to Titan's surface.
On the bottom is a false color view of Titan. It is a composite of images taken through three filters that are sensitive to infrared, methane band, and ultraviolet light. Darker areas here are also vast hydrocarbon sand dunes and seas.
In the infrared and false color views, Titan's largest sea, Kraken Mare, is visible in the north polar region.
See a video rotating between views here.
All images shown here were taken by Cassini's camera system, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on April 18, 2017 and received on Earth April 19, 2017. The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 1.51 million kilometers (0.94 million miles) away.
Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / Val Klavans
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Have you ever wondered what Saturn looks like from above? On October 10, 2013 Cassini had the chance to fly over Saturn and take in this stunning view of the planet nestled within its rings, highlighting its mysterious hexagon and colorful cloud layers.
This composite is made of images that were taken by the Cassini spacecraft's camera system, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on October 10, 2013 and received on Earth October 11, 2013. The camera was pointing toward Saturn at approximately 900,000 miles (1,450,000 kilometers) away, and the images were taken using red, green, and blue filters.
Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / Val Klavans
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The Cassini spacecraft snapped this view in an infrared filter to peer through Titan’s thick atmosphere and image its surface.
Atmospheric features in this view:
Titan's north polar hood is just visible in this view.
Surface features:
The darker areas are vast hydrocarbon sand dunes. You can see many other features including craters, maculae (dark spots), faculae (bright spots), and large ringed features.
This image was taken by Cassini's camera system, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) on April 4, 2016 and received on Earth April 5, 2016. The camera was pointing toward TITAN, and the image was taken using an infrared filter.
Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / Val Klavans
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This true color view of Titan was snapped by Cassini's camera system, the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) during Cassini's Titan (T-118) Flyby.
This composite is made of images that were taken on April 5, 2016 and received on Earth April 5, 2016. The camera was pointing toward TITAN, and the images were taken using the red, green, and blue filters.
Credit: NASA / JPL / SSI / Val Klavans
about.me/valerieklavans
Tags: titan haze crescent ring cassini mission imaging science subsystem iss ssi nasa jpl red green blue space spacecraft solar system saturn planet Planetary Astronomy Astrobiology val valerie klavans april 5 2016