Titan image

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Sowndbyte
Ensign
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2004 5:06 pm
Location: Oregon

Titan image

Post by Sowndbyte » Thu Oct 28, 2004 9:20 am

as this photo in APOD shows Titan, the thing that struck me was how clear the right edge of the moon is, yet the left edge is blurred across its entirety. is this a composite image,OR (is the right edge facing the Sun and thus more accented ?)
Sowndbyte

Guest

Post by Guest » Fri Dec 10, 2004 9:09 pm

The left edge of the image shows what is called the "terminator", the separation between day and night. This is where the planet's shadow ends (or begins). On a planet without an atmosphere, the terminator is a sharp line, but on Titan, it's been "spread out" by scattering of light in the atmosphere.

Guest

Post by Guest » Mon Dec 20, 2004 7:00 pm

Speaking of which, we all realize that Voyager pictures were incredibly good, since it was a short flyby, 1970’s technology and a space probe NOT designed to make these low light pictures!

In a sense, I might should have said that Cassini pictures, so far, are a little dissapointing to me, in that respect… although PHOEBE’s are, truly, revealing. With regard to Titan, Venus’ surface radar mapping quality is what we were expecting, I guess, at least. Uh?