If you can't get enough glamor shots of Saturn's magnificent ring system or the quirks of its many moons, thank Cassini. Launched in 1997, the probe arrived in orbit of the seventh planet in 2004 and began to beam back not only wallpaper-worthy photos of Saturn but also new insights about Titan, Iapetus, Rhea, and other natural satellites of Saturn. The newest: These views of the hydrocarbon lakes on Titan, the clearest ever taken.
Titan just might be the most interesting place in the solar system—aside from Earth, of course. Although a moon of Saturn, it's bigger than Mercury. It's the only moon we know to have a thick atmosphere. And Titan is the only place besides Earth to have stable lakes on its surface, though they are made of the hydrocarbons methane and ethane rather than water. A smattering of these strange seas reside in the south of Titan, NASA says, but the vast majority can be found near the north pole. That's what you see in these new pictures.
For years, NASA scientists have been using Cassini's radar to peer through the thick haze that coats Titan and study its curious terrain. But the spacecraft's instruments that see in visible light had never gotten a clean look at the northern lakes. That changed this summer, thanks to the changing of Titan's seasons. When Cassini arrived in 2004, the north pole of Titan was pointed away from the sun, and as a result, dense gases accumulated there. The moon went through an equinox in 2009 when both hemispheres received roughly equal radiation from the sun. Since then, the north has tilted toward the sun and the blanket of gas covering it has weakened. Plus, NASA says, Titan's lakes were seeing a period of calm, clear, rain-free weather when Cassini made flybys in June and September.
The colorized image comes from combining data from the spacecraft's visual and infrared spectrometers. The result is that the differences in color demonstrate the different materials on the Titan surface. Around the lakes you see orange specks that represent material left behind when part of the liquid methane evaporated. Call it Titan's version of the Bonneville Salt Flats. The black-and-white mosaic images show the shapes of Titan lakes (they're the dark splotches). The biggest one is called Kraken Mare. Yes, it's named after the kraken.
Hopefully Cassini will beam back even more incredible images of Titan's north pole now that the viewing is clear. While the plucky probe had a planned exploration date of 2008, NASA extended Cassini's life twice. It's now scheduled to continue operating until 2017. Perhaps by then we'll actually be ready to send the spacecraft's successor to this incredible place.