Cassini Radar Views the Surface of Titan

Charles Elachi (1) , Stephen D. Wall (1) , M. Allison (2) , Y. Anderson (1) , R. Boehmer (1) , P. Callahan (1) , Pierre J. Encrenaz (3, 4) , Enrico Flamini (5) , G. Francescetti (6) , Y. Gim (1) , G. Hamilton (1) , S. Hensley (1) , Michael A. Janssen (1) , W. Johnson (1) , K. Kelleher (1) , R. Kirk (7) , Rosaly M. C. Lopes (1) , Ralph D. Lorenz (8) , Jonathan I. Lunine (8) , Duane Muhleman (9) , S. Ostro (1) , Flora Paganelli (1) , G. Picardi (10) , F. Posa (11) , L. Roth (1) , R. Seu (10) , S. Shaffer (1) , Laurence A. Soderblom (7) , B. W. Stiles (1) , Ellen R. Stofan (12) , S. Vetrella (6) , R. West (1) , Charles Wood (13) , L. C. Wye (14) , H. Zebker (14)

1 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
2 Goddard Institute for Space Studies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration New York
3 LERMA - Laboratoire d'Etude du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique
4 Instrumentation et télédétection
5 ASI - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
6 Facoltá di Ingegneria
7 US Geological Survey, Flagstaff
8 LPL - Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [University of Arizona]
9 Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
10 Universitá La Sapienza
11 INFM and Dipartimento Interateneo di Fisica
12 Proxemy Research, Laytonsville
13 Planetary Science Institute, Tucson
14 Stanford University

The Cassini Titan Radar Mapper imaged about 1% of Titan's surface at a resolution of ~0.5 kilometer, and larger areas of the globe in lower resolution modes. The images reveal a complex surface, with areas of low relief and a variety of geologic features suggestive of dome-like volcanic constructs, flows, and sinuous channels. The surface appears to be young, with few impact craters. Scattering and dielectric properties are consistent with porous ice or organics. Dark patches in the radar images show high brightness temperatures and high emissivity and are consistent with frozen hydrocarbons.

Domaines: Astrophysique [astro-ph]

Charles Elachi, Stephen D. Wall, M. Allison, Y. Anderson, R. Boehmer, et al.. Cassini Radar Views the Surface of Titan. Science, 2005, 308, pp.970-974. ⟨10.1126/science.1109919⟩. ⟨hal-03786408⟩