Cassini Returns New Images of Titan

Mission controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, have just released a new set of images of Titan, the largest moon around Saturn. This was the spacecraft's 86th flyby of the celestial body in 8 years.

Cassini entered orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. Since then, it has been studying the gas giant, its atmosphere, rings and moon system. Titan and the icy moon Enceladus have always been preferred targets, the former because it contains liquid hydrocarbons, and the latter because it may contain a liquid ocean.

The new image of Titan was collected on September 27, at the end of a two-day flyby. The predominant aspect of the photo is the colorful hydrocarbon haze visible high in the moon's atmosphere.

At its point of closest approach, Cassini was only 956 kilometers (594 miles) away from Titan, Universe Today reports.