NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope used its infrared cameras to capture incredibly detailed images of the clouds and atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, providing astronomers with the best look yet at one of the strangest moons in the solar system. Why? It’s the only satellite with a dense atmosphere with standing bodies of liquid on its surface, besides Earth, including rivers, lakes and seas.
Unlike Earth, these liquids bodies on Titan are thought to be of methane, ethane, and other hydrocarbons instead of water. When the data is combined with those from Earth-bound telescopes, astronomers will be able to better understand weather patterns on the satellite in advance of a NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Titan, which is scheduled for launch in 2027. The Dragonfly mission will study the habitability of Titan’s unusual environment and scour for signatures of water-based or hydrocarbon-based life.
- BRIGHT, SHARP VIEWS ANYWHERE: Unlike many beginner telescopes, this quality refractor features fully coated glass lenses and a 70mm aperture for...
- PERFECT FIRST TELESCOPE FOR BEGINNERS: Designed for adults and kids to enjoy together, this beginner-friendly telescope sets up in minutes and...
- EASY NO-TOOL SETUP: No complicated assembly or tools needed. The full-height tripod and telescope tube set up in seconds and pack neatly into the...
We were concerned that the clouds would be gone when we looked at Titan one and two days later with Keck, but to our delight there were clouds at the same positions, looking like they might have changed in shape,” said de Pater, a UC Berkeley Professor of the Graduate School.
