Cassini to Fly by Smog-Cloaked Titan
April 27, 2006

Cassini's powerful radar, which can see through Titan's many haze layers, will image across an optically-bright, continent-size region of Titan known as Xanadu on April 30, 2006.
It is unclear whether Xanadu is a mountain range, giant basin, smooth plain, or a combination of all three.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to Study Titan's Atmosphere
May 18, 2006

The Cassini spacecraft will study the hazy atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan from the inside out during a flyby on May 20.
Cassini will transmit radio waves to Earth as it flies behind Titan. The radio waves will pass through Titan's atmosphere, revealing characteristics about the atmosphere's temperature, structure and winds.

During this flyby, Cassini also will bounce radio waves off the surface of Titan for receipt on Earth. The reflectiveness at different wavelengths will provide information about the surface roughness and composition.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to Look In, Out and Over Titan
June 30, 2006

Two years after reaching Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft is halfway to completing its orbital mission. On July 2, Cassini will perform its 16th flyby of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Cassini will focus on the interactions between Titan's atmosphere and the big bubble that surrounds Saturn, called the magnetosphere. Cassini will also study Titan's surface to enable a better understanding of its properties and composition.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

T-15 Raw Image
July 5, 2006

N00063394.jpg was taken on July 02, 2006 and received on Earth July 03, 2006. The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 183,007 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CB3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2007.

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini's Search for Lakes Continues
July 18, 2006

After revealing a land of mountains and river channels near Titan's equator in April, Cassini's radar will illuminate the high northern reaches of Titan during the next flyby on July 21, 2006 (July 22 UTC). In winter's shadow since the arrival of Cassini in 2004, Titan's northern terrain could harbor methane lakes, which shrink in summer and expand in winter.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to Fly by Titan -- T-17
September 5, 2006

After revealing a land of bountiful lakes on Cassini's last flyby of Saturn's moon Titan, the journey continues during a flyby on Sept. 7, 2006.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Nice work Waspie, keep us informed.

T-17 Flyby -- Raw Image N00065334
September 11, 2006

N00065334.jpg was taken Sept. 8, 2006 and received on Earth Sept. 8, 2006. The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 137,854 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CB3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2007.

For more information on raw images check out our frequently asked questions section.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Sept. 23, 2006
September 22, 2006

Cassini Aims High in Upcoming Titan Flyby
Cassini's next close flyby of Titan will be on Saturday, Sept. 23. This will be one of Cassini's closest flybys yet of Titan, at just 960 kilometers (600 miles) above the surface. Scientists will use the observations to study the composition at the very highest levels of Titan's atmosphere.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Will be great if they can get clear pictures with it being close.

T-18 Flyby -- Raw Image N00066216
September 25, 2006

N00066216.jpg was taken on September 23, 2006 and received on Earth September 24, 2006. The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 266,895 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CB3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2007.

For more information on raw images check out our frequently asked questions section.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Oct. 9, 2006
October 5, 2006

Cassini's Land of Lakes Tour Continues
Cassini's radar instrument will hunt for more lakes on Saturn's moon Titan, during a flyby on Monday, Oct. 9. After discovering lakes in July, the Cassini team tweaked the spacecraft's viewing geometry to point the radar farther north to search for more lakes.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby -- Oct. 9, 2006 -- (Raw Image)
October 10, 2006

N00067472.jpg was taken on Oct. 10, 2006 and received on Earth Oct. 10, 2006. The camera was pointing toward TITAN at approximately 189,368 kilometers away, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CB3 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System in 2007.

For more information on raw images check out our frequently asked questions section.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Oct. 25, 2006
October 23, 2006

Cassini to Find Out What Titan's Dunes Are Made Of

During a flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on Wed., Oct. 25, the Cassini spacecraft will obtain the first detailed maps of the composition of this moon's Earth-like features, including dunes, rocky plains, steep highlands and possible volcanoes and lakes.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Dec. 12, 2006
December 6, 2006

Cassini to Buzz by Titan

Cassini's ultraviolet camera investigates the distribution of aerosols and other hydrocarbons in Titan's orange-tinged atmosphere during a Tuesday, Dec. 12, flyby. Cassini's radar continues to map Titan, one strip at a time.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Dec. 28, 2006
December 21, 2006


Cassini Wraps Up Year with Titan Flyby
Cassini wraps up another amazing year with a flyby of Titan on Dec. 28, 2006. On this flyby, radio science instruments will measure Titan's gravity field in search for a potential subsurface ocean

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Jan. 13, 2007
January 9, 2007

Cassini starts what promises to be another amazing year with a flyby of Titan on Jan. 13, 2007.

+ View the Mission Description PDF (940 KB)

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Jan. 29, 2007
January 23, 2007

Cassini's Infrared Eyes Aimed at Titan

During Cassini's next pass of Saturn's moon Titan on Jan. 29, its infrared eyes will study the moon's murky atmosphere and peer through its thick, smoggy-veil mapping surface features.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Feb. 21, 2007
February 15, 2007

Cassini Flyby to Crisscross Familiar Terrain

On Cassini's next pass of Titan on Feb. 22 (SCET), the radar mapper will image Titan's surface and crisscross over six previously mapped areas.

Cassini's radar will focus on Titan's north pole region, where lakes have been spotted. The spacecraft will swoop from 30 degrees south latitude, all the way up to 85 degrees north longitude. On this second view of the lakes region, scientists will look for changes and perhaps spot new lakes. The overlap of images over the same area allows the use of stereo techniques to determine the height of surface features.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to Cruise by Titan
March 6, 2007

Up next for Cassini is a flyby of Titan on March 10, which includes imaging an area just north of the equator, temperature mapping, and monitoring of cloud motion.

On this flyby, Cassini will scoop up material from the top of Titan's atmosphere to determine the constituents. Changes in temperature at the surface will also be measured.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Titan Flyby - Mar. 26, 2007
March 21, 2007

Cassini Set to 'Peek-a-Boo' Titan on Next Flyby

Cassini returns to Titan on March 26, at an altitude of 1,010 kilometers (628 miles). The spacecraft will pass behind Titan for approximately 35 minutes. This is called an occultation, and it's Cassini's version of "peek-a-boo". A signal from the spacecraft will bounce off Titan's surface and be received on Earth. This signal will tell scientists more about Titan's surface.

The flyby will also include more temperature mapping, global mapping, and imaging in the ultraviolet and infrared regions.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Sea Hunt -- Cassini Style
April 5, 2007

Cassini's next Titan flyby on April 10, 2007, will bring the spacecraft over new parts of familiar terrain of the Saturnian moon's north polar region. During this radar pass, more lakes or seas are expected to be visible. Among the new parts of familiar terrain to be imaged will be the other side boundary of the 'black sea', which could tell scientists more about its size. Additionally, the radar team has aligned this pass slightly southward so that it will align up with a future altimetry flyby planned for May 12.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini Extends Mapping of Titan's Surface
April 23, 2007

Cassini's radar eyes will image additional regions near Titan's north pole during an April 26, 2007, flyby. The instrument will image the area slightly north of an area nicknamed the "black sea."

The radar coverage will cross over four previous radar swaths and begin to fill in more of the gaps in the coverage of Titan's north pole. On this flyby, Cassini's infrared spectrometer will see the lit and dark sides of Titan, looking for hot spots and lightning. The imaging cameras will do global mapping and full-disk mosaics.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to Confirm if 'Caspian Sea' is Liquid-Filled
May 8, 2007

For Cassini's next flyby of Titan on May 12, 2007, the radar instrument was originally pointing north of where it is now pointed. Due to the discovery of probable large seas on Titan, Cassini's quick-thinking team repointed the radar instrument south, so it could fly over a large, expansive dark area dubbed the "Caspian Sea." This flyby will confirm whether it is liquid-filled. This area on Titan's north pole stretches 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and is only slightly smaller than Earth's Caspian Sea.

The presence of seas on Titan reinforces the idea that Titan's surface must be re-supplying methane to its atmosphere.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to View Titan from Bottom to Top
May 23, 2007

Cassini's science instruments will conduct observations of Titan during the May 28, 2007, flyby. As seen from Earth, Cassini will dip behind Titan near the south pole and re-emerge near the north pole. From this unique vantage point, Cassini's radio science instrument will use a radio signal to study the properties of Titan's atmosphere, and the infrared and visible-light cameras will image a bright surface feature on Titan named Dilmun.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to See the Sun Set and Rise on Titan
June 7, 2007

During Cassini's flyby if Titan on June 13, 2007, scientists will take advantage of a rare geometry to take detailed measurements of the atmosphere by imaging the sun as it passes behind Titan and its thick, banded atmosphere.

Thanks to its onboard Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph, scientists will be able to probe the highest part of Titan's atmosphere.

Credit: NASA/JPL

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to Fly By Tethys and Titan
June 25, 2007
This week, Cassini's travels will bring it by Saturn's moon Tethys (June 27) and Titan (June 29). Cassini will get a close-up look at the large crater Odysseus, which is 450 kilometers (280 miles) in diameter, and Ithaca Chasma, a canyon that is four times as long as Earth's Grand Canyon. Scientists are studying how this canyon formed and whether Tethys was active in the past, like Enceladus is currently. Scientists will also obtain close-up images of mysterious dark patches on the moon, and they will be taking data to understand what the surface is made of. Scientists would like to learn if Tethys is only pure water ice, or if it's contaminated with dark material rich in organics, like the material that covers the dark side of Iapetus.

Two days later Cassini returns to Titan. The spacecraft will send back radio waves to Earth as our home planet moves behind Titan (as seen from Cassini). The goal is to map Titan's shape in order to seek clues for a subsurface ocean, and to probe the atmosphere of the giant moon.

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Probing Titan's Surface West of Huygens
July 12, 2007

Cassini's next Titan encounter on July 19 will include bistatic scattering observations just to the west of the Huygens probe landing site. Bistatic scattering is a type of radio science observation used to determine the nature and composition of Titan's surface.

Credit: NASA/JPL

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini's Double Flyby of Rhea and Titan
August 30, 2007

Cassini ends August with back-to-back fly-bys of Rhea and then Titan.

First up, on Aug. 30, the spacecraft flies within 5,737 kilometers (3,565 miles) of Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea. The icy moon provides a stark contrast to the atmosphere-rich Titan, which gets its close up this time from 3,326 kilometers (2,066 miles) the next day. These fly-bys set up a close encounter with Iapetus on Sept. 10, 2007.

Credit: NASA/JPL

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini's Closest Visit of Iapetus
September 4, 2007

On Sept. 10, the Cassini spacecraft performs its closest flyby during the entire mission of the odd moon Iapetus, passing by about 1,640 kilometers (1,000 miles).

Iapetus is a world of sharp contrasts. The leading hemisphere is as dark as a freshly-tarred street, and the white, trailing hemisphere resembles freshly-fallen snow. Scientists want to know more about the composition of the dark material that coats Iapetus. They also want to learn more about Iapetus' distinctive walnut shape and the chain of mountains along its equator.

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini Heads South on Titan Flyby
September 26, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft has been moving progressively over Titan's southern hemisphere and is getting ready for a Titan flyby on Oct. 2, 2007. During this flyby, Cassini's radar instrument has a chance to image the surface.

This will be the radar instrument's southernmost flyby to date. The next few radar passes should bring the spacecraft closer to the south pole. Scientists will be on the hunt for lakes or seas to see if they are as prevalent here as they are at the north pole.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Spotlight on Titan for Next Cassini Flyby
November 13, 2007

Saturn's moon Titan will be backlit by the sun during Cassini's upcoming flyby on Nov. 19, 2007. Scientists will be looking with much anticipation at the densities of Titan's atmosphere, which were much lower during the last flyby. This flyby marks Cassini's last high-inclination climb, and is considered Cassini's last "mountain climb" of Titan in the nominal mission. By July of 2008, Cassini will be looking down on Saturn from its highest inclinations, greater than 70 degrees.

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini Flies by Titan's South Pole
November 29, 2007

The Cassini spacecraft will perform a southern hemisphere pass of Titan's surface on Dec. 5, 2007. The infrared camera will perform high-resolution imaging of a dark region called Ontario Lacus, which may be a large lake, first spotted by the imaging cameras in 2005. The Huygens probe landing site will also be imaged.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini Heads South on Next Titan Flyby
December 17, 2007

On Cassini's next Titan flyby on Dec. 20, 2007, the radar instrument will reveal Titan's "deep south" and allow scientists to contrast this region against what they found in the lake regions of the north polar area. The spacecraft will go as far south as 70 degrees. The radar will image new areas of the Tsegihi region it has not yet seen, and get some overlap in coverage. New ground will be covered south of the dune fields of Belet.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini's First Titan Visit in the New Year -- T40
January 2, 2008

During the Cassini spacecraft's next encounter with Titan on Jan. 5 its visual and infrared mapping spectrometer will map the Huygens probe's landing site, now in direct sunlight. This flyby also features two separate stellar occultations to study the structure of Titan's atmosphere. The spectrometer will be watching the star Alpha Bootes, and the ultraviolet imaging spectrograph will be pointed toward Alpha Lyra.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini to Image Huygens Landing Site
February 14, 2008

A little more than three years after the Huygens probe landed on Saturn's moon Titan, Cassini's radar instrument will get another look at the area where it landed during a flyby on Feb. 22.
This area was previously viewed with radar but with less resolution. Having radar data of this area from two flybys may provide valuable information about its topography.

Radar will also image Hotei Arcus, which appears as a bright spot to Cassini's infrared cameras. Having radar coverage over this region might shed light on this mysterious spot.

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini Flies By Saturn's Moon Enceladus
March 10, 2008

The Cassini spacecraft makes its closest swing past a Saturnian moon on Mar. 12, 2008. Cassini flies at about 50 kilometers (30 miles) above the surface of Enceladus, skirting along the edges of Old-Faithful-like geysers and scooping up valuable samples of water-ice, dust and gas along the way.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

WOW! great.... I am looking forward to what it finds.... It is one of the prospects for life in the solar system, and this flyby would be really interesting.

I wouldn't think a 310 mile diameter ball of dirt and ice or water would make an environment that changes enough to form or maintain LIFE. But then again thats why we are looking there. To see if general opinions are wrong.

Me too.

When the data is published by NASA I will post it in the Saturn's Moon Enceladus & Its Geysers topic. I have already moved some of the posts I made in this thread there, as it seemed a more appropriate place for them (I forgot that thread existed when I posted them here).

Cassini to 'Touch and Look' at Titan's Atmosphere
March 21, 2008

On Tuesday, March 25, just prior to its closest approach to Titan at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), Cassini will employ its Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer to examine the upper atmosphere. Immediately after closest approach, the spacecraft's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer will capture images of Titan near the Huygens landing site.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

T42: The answer to life, the universe, and everything...
March 25, 2008

With apologies to Douglas Adams, author of the classic science fiction novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy": Earth is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy. The sapient life forms on Earth are currently sending primitive technology to study the most spectacular planet in the Sun's system: Saturn. On this day, the primitive technology, will fly by Titan, the most Earth-like moon in that solar system. While Earth has been deemed "mostly harmless," the jury is still out on Titan.

Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

T43 -- Cassini's Radar to Peer Through Titan's Haze
May 8, 2008

Cassini is on a course for a Titan flyby on May 12, at an altitude of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), for the first of two Titan northern hemisphere flybys that will wrap up the prime mission.

On this flyby, Cassini's radar will map the bright region of Xanadu, which was only partly imaged previously. This overlap in coverage may yield stereo views of the region. The radar team has targeted Hotei Arcus, as well as a possible cryovolcanic feature, Tortola Facula (informally known as the 'Snail'), which was visible in infrared images.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini

Cassini Flies By Titan, Readies for Extended Tour
May 23, 2008

On May 28, the Cassini spacecraft will fly by Saturn's moon Titan in its last flyby of the original four-year tour, but Cassini’s exploration of Saturn will continue for two more years. This flyby will include imagery of Xanadu and inbound altimetry over the area imaged during the previous flyby.

The extended mission, named the "Saturn Equinox Mission," will start this summer, a two-year odyssey with 26 Titan flybys, 7 Enceladus encounters, and one flyby each of the icy moons Dione, Rhea and Helene.

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Source: NASA/JPL - Cassini