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> Saturn from atop Titan's hydrocarbon haze

Saturn from atop Titan's hydrocarbon haze

author: Walter B. Myers/Novapix

reference: a-sat99-00313

Image Size 300 DPI: 33 * 25 cm

Saturn and its rings would be a majestic sight lording over Titan's hydrocarbon haze. The viewpoint is from 50 miles above Titan's surface and three-quarters of a million miles away from Saturn itself. Four of Saturn's smaller satellites can also be seen along the ring plane: left to right are Enceladus, Dione, Tethys and Rhea. Technically, the orange clouds mark the beginning of Titan's condensate haze, which consists of ethane, methane, nitrogen, and a variety of hydrocarbons known collectively as tholin. These gases and hydrocarbons extend upward another 250 miles, resulting in a bluish, earthlike sky, albeit darker due to Titan's great distance from the Sun. Tholin is created by the interaction of the nitrogen-rich gases with ultraviolet light from the Sun and ultimately precipitates all the way down to Titan's surface. Notwithstanding its flame-like colors, this haze is chilled to minus 330º F.

Keywords for this photo:

ASTRONOMY - CLOUD - HAZE - ILLUSTRATION - PLANET - SATELLITE - SATURN - SATURN'S MOON - TITAN -