JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Image

Dunes Galore

Nov. 1, 2005
Large areas of this Cassini synthetic aperture radar image of Titan from NASA's Cassini spacecraft are covered by long, dark ridges.

Large areas of this Cassini synthetic aperture radar image of Titan are covered by long, dark ridges. They resemble the "cat scratches" seen in other places on Titan, but here they are longer and straighter. Spaced about 1 to 2 kilometers (0.6 to 1 miles) apart, they curve slightly around teardrop-shaped bright terrain, giving the impression of a Japanese garden of sand raked around boulders. The bright material appears to be high-standing rough material that the ridges bend around. This suggests that the ridges are dunes that winds have blown across the surface of Titan from left to right (roughly west to east).

This image was taken during the ninth Titan flyby on Oct. 28, 2005, (the fourth flyby for Cassini's synthetic aperture radar), at a distance of about 1300 kilometers (800 miles).

The image covers an area roughly 140 kilometers by 200 kilometers (120 miles). It is located 13 degrees south latitude and 300 degrees west longitude.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The radar instrument team is based at JPL, working with team members from the United States and several European countries.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.

Download JPG
Download TIFF
Mission
Target
  • Titan
Spacecraft
  • Cassini Orbiter
Instrument
  • Radar Mapper
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI

Keep Exploring

Slice of History - Happy 25th Anniversary, Cassini!

Enceladus in the Infrared (Map View)

Enceladus in the Infrared

Enceladus Global View with Plume (Artist's Rendering)

First Global Geologic Map of Titan

Enceladus Organics on Grains of Ice (Illustration)

Titan's Rimmed Lakes (Artist's Concept)

Texture Belts

Texture in the Outer Cassini Division

Mini-jets in the F Ring

Related Topics

Solar System .

Space Trivia Question

Mission .

Surveyor 4

News .

NASA Scientists Make First Observation of a Polar Cyclone on Uranus

News .

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures View of Mars’ Belva Crater

News .

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight to Fly by Earth

News .

NASA’s Juno Mission Getting Closer to Jupiter’s Moon Io

News .

NASA Calls End to Lunar Flashlight After Some Tech Successes

News .

Images From NASA’s Perseverance May Show Record of Wild Martian River

News .

New Study of Uranus’ Large Moons Shows 4 May Hold Water

Video .

Spacecraft Makers: Introducing Europa Clipper

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018