{"id":14639,"date":"2017-05-09T20:43:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T12:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/cassini-downlinks-view-of-titans-methane-clouds-on-third-loop-inside-rings\/"},"modified":"2017-05-09T20:43:43","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T12:43:43","slug":"cassini-downlinks-view-of-titans-methane-clouds-on-third-loop-inside-rings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/cassini-downlinks-view-of-titans-methane-clouds-on-third-loop-inside-rings\/","title":{"rendered":"Cassini downlinks view of Titan\u2019s methane clouds on third loop inside rings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Cassini took this picture of Titan\u2019s northern cloud bands Sunday from a distance of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/Space Science Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cassini spacecraft captured captivating images of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan\u2019s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn\u2019s ring gap Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The distant pictures, taken from a range of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers), were recorded Sunday as Saturn\u2019s gravity tugged NASA\u2019s Cassini spacecraft toward its third pass between the planet\u2019s atmosphere and rings.<\/p>\n

Cassini crossed Saturn\u2019s ring plane at 0613 GMT (2:13 a.m. EDT) Tuesday, passing about 1,680 miles (2,710 kilometers) from the upper fringes of the planet\u2019s hydrogen-helium atmosphere. That is the closest Cassini has come to Saturn to date, but future flybys will swing even closer to the planet\u2019s cloud tops.<\/p>\n

NASA confirmed Cassini weathered the trip through the ring gap as expected. Tuesday\u2019s encounter was the first time the spacecraft stayed in contact with Earth during a ring gap passage.<\/p>\n

The images of Titan released Tuesday show bands of methane clouds over the moon\u2019s northern hemisphere. Scientists were predicting cloud formations in Titan\u2019s northern latitudes ahead of the moon\u2019s northern summer solstice a few weeks away.<\/p>\n

Titan\u2019s seasons change as Saturn orbits the sun every 29 years, exposing the moon\u2019s northern and southern hemispheres to more sunlight along the way, driving the moon\u2019s weather patterns and moisture cycles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are some of the most intensely bright clouds Cassini has observed on Titan, likely due to high-cloud tops,\u201d NASA officials wrote in a release accompanying the images. \u201cThis activity also represents the most extensive cloud outburst on Titan since clouds reappeared at northern mid-latitudes in early 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Two versions of an image of Titan\u2019s clouds are presented here, one with stronger enhancement (figure A) and one with much softer enhancement (figure B). Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/Space Science Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The images show a belt of \u201cdunelands\u201d near Titan\u2019s equator, and pockmarked features near the top of one of the pictures are seas of methane and ethane.<\/p>\n

Cassini made its 127th and last close flyby of Titan on April 22, but the orbiter will continue long-distance observations as it circles Saturn in the final months of its mission. The spacecraft gathered radar data on the moon\u2019s terrain and hydrocarbon lakes during the April 22 swingby.<\/p>\n

Titan\u2019s surface temperature is a frigid minus 292 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 180 degrees Celsius), much too cold for liquid water. But Titan, the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, experiences day\/night cycles and seasons remarkably similar to Earth, with fluctuations in rainfall, cloud patterns and temperatures.<\/p>\n

Scientists believe Titan, Saturn\u2019s largest moon, also hides an underground ocean of salty liquid water and ammonia.<\/p>\n

After looking at Titan on the inbound leg of its most recent orbit, Cassini\u2019s radio instrument focused on gravity field measurements to study Saturn\u2019s interior and rings as the craft sailed through the ring gap Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Cassini will make 19 more flights inside Saturn\u2019s rings, with the next ring crossing set for May 15. Running low on fuel, the mission will end Sept. 15 with a destructive dive into Saturn\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cassini took this picture of Titan\u2019s northern cloud bands Sunday from a distance of more than 300,000 miles (500,000 kilometers). Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/Space Science Institute The Cassini spacecraft captured captivating images of wispy methane clouds suspended above Titan\u2019s hydrocarbon lakes as the probe headed for its third shot through Saturn\u2019s ring gap Tuesday. The distant pictures, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2394,1183,1561,1562,2396],"class_list":["post-14639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-cassini","tag-jet-propulsion-laboratory","tag-planetary-science","tag-saturn","tag-titan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14639"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14639\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}