Titan's South Polar Clouds Target Name:   Titan Spacecraft:   Cassini Orbiter Instrument:   Imaging Science Subsystem - Narrow Angle Produced by:   NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Copyright:  NASA Copyright Free Policy Cross Reference:   PIA06110 Date Released:  4 July 2004

• Saturn
• Saturn's Moon Titan
• Cassini at Titan

This sequence of images illustrates the evolution of a field of clouds near Titan's south pole over a period of almost five hours. The images were acquired on July 2, 2004, by NASA's Cassini spacecraft at ranges of 364,000 to 339,000 kilometers (226,170 to 210,600 miles). These bright clouds, believed to be composed of methane, appear in generally the same area where Earth-based astronomers have previously detected clouds. Cassini also saw clouds in this region during its approach to Saturn.

The pixel scale of these images ranges from 2.2 to 2.0 kilometers per pixel (1.4 to 1.2 miles per pixel). The smallest features that can be discerned in the clouds are roughly 10 kilometers ( 6 miles) across.