Astronomy Picture of the Day
    


Huygens on Titan Illustrated
<< Yesterday 31.01.2006 Tomorrow >>
Huygens on Titan Illustrated
Credit & Copyright: ESA
Explanation: If you could stand on Titan, what might you see? About one year ago the robotic Huygens probe landed on the enigmatic moon of Saturn and sent back the first ever images from beneath Titan's thick cloud layers. From the images sent back, an artist's impression of Huygens on Titan's surface has been reconstructed. In the foreground of the above image sits the car-sized lander that sent back images for more than 90 minutes before running out of battery power. The parachute that slowed Huygen's re-entry is seen in the background, attached to the lander by strong chords. Strange light smooth stones possibly containing water-ice are visible surrounding the landing craft. Analyses of Huygen's images and data shows that Titan's surface today has intriguing similarities to the surface of the early Earth.

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
 < January 2006  >
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su






1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031




Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Based on Astronomy Picture Of the Day

Publications with keywords: Huygens probe - Titan - methane
Publications with words: Huygens probe - Titan - methane
See also:
All publications on this topic >>