Astronomy Picture of the Day
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Northern Summer on Titan
Image Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA,NASA
Explanation
While yesterday's solstice brought summer to planet Earth's northern hemisphere, a northern summer solstice arrived for ringed planet Saturn nearly a month ago on May 24.
Following theSaturnian seasons, its large moon Titan was captured in this Cassini spacecraft image from June 9.
The near-infrared view finds bright methane clouds drifting through Titan's northern summer skies as seen from a distance of
about 507,000 kilometers.
Below Titan's clouds, dark hydrocarbon lakes sprawl near the large moon's now illuminated north pole.
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman
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