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Explanation: What's happening over the south pole of Titan? A vortex of haze appears to be forming, although no one is sure why. The above natural-color image shows the light-colored feature. The vortex was found on images taken last month when the robotic Cassini spacecraft flew by the unusual atmosphere-shrouded moon of Saturn. Cassini was only able to see the southern vortex because its orbit around Saturn was recently boosted out of the plane where the rings and moons move. Clues as to what created the enigmatic feature are accumulating, including that Titan's air appears to be sinking in the center and rising around the edges. Winter, however, is slowly descending on the south of Titan, so that the vortex, if it survives, will be plunged into darkness over the next few years.
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Few Bits about Quantum Theory, Part 1 by Dr. Paul Doherty
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Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Titan - clouds
Publications with words: Titan - clouds
See also:
- Nacreous Clouds over Sweden
- APOD: 2025 January 19 Á Titan Touchdown: Huygens Descent Movie
- APOD: 2024 November 19 Á Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory
- APOD: 2024 July 7 Á Iridescent Clouds over Sweden
- APOD: 2023 August 20 Á A Roll Cloud Over Wisconsin
- Seeing Titan
- APOD: 2023 February 12 Á Mammatus Clouds over Nebraska