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.
The image from a flyby on Sept. 23, 2006, covers an area about 60 kilometres wide by 40 kilometres high. This pass was primarily dedicated to the ion and neutral mass spectrometer instrument, so although, the volume of radar data was small, scientists were amazed to see Earth-like lakes. With Titan's colder temperatures and hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere, however, the lakes likely contain a combination of methane and ethane, not water. In this image, near 73 degrees north latitude, 46 degrees west longitude, two lakes are seen, each 20 to 25 kilometres across. They are joined by a relatively narrow channel. The lake on the right has lighter patches within it, indicating that it may be slowly drying out as the northern summer approaches.
This lake is part of a larger image taken by the Cassini radar instrument during a flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on Sept. 23, 2006. It shows clear shorelines that are reminiscent of terrestrial lakes. With Titan's colder temperatures and hydrocarbon-rich atmosphere, however, the lakes likely contain a combination of methane and ethane, not water.
Centred near 74 degrees north, 65 degrees west longitude, this lake is roughly 20 kilometres by 25 kilometres across. It features several narrow or angular bays, including a broad peninsula that on Earth would be evidence that the surrounding terrain is higher and confines the liquid. Broader bays, such as the one seen at right, might result when the terrain is gentler, as for example on a beach.