Mountains of Titan
Explanation:
Peering
through the thick, hazy atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon,
an infrared camera onboard the
Cassini spacecraft
recorded this view of the tallest mountains ever seen
on Titan.
Captured during a flyby in late October,
the high resolution,
false-color
mosaic shows a mountain range about
150 kilometers long and about 1.5 kilometers high - likened to the
Sierra Nevada
mountain range of the western United States,
planet Earth.
Along Titan's mountain ridges lie bright deposits, thought to be
methane
snow or other organic material.
The
icy mountains of Titan were
probably formed like Earth's
mid-ocean ridges, from material
welling up to fill gaps
created as surface
tectonic
plates spread apart.
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.
