This stereographic projection of Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer images
from the European Space Agency's Huygens probe combines 60 images in 31
triplets, projected from a height of 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) above the
black 'lakebed' surface. The bright area to the north (top of the image)
and west is higher than the rest of the terrain, and covered in dark lines
that appear to be drainage channels.
The images were then stitched together using one of several projection
algorithms (in this case 'stereographic') to produce a full mosaic. The
images used to construct this mosaic were taken on Jan. 14, 2005.
The Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer is one of two NASA-funded
instruments on the probe.
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 Cassini-Huygens mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and
assembled at JPL. The Descent Imager/Spectral team is based at the
University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. For more information about the Descent
Imager/Spectral Radiometer visit http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~kholso/.
