This view is among the closest Cassini images of Tethys' icy surface
taken during the Sept. 24, 2005 flyby.
This false-color image, created with infrared, green and ultraviolet
frames, reveals a wide variety of surface colors across this terrain. The
presence of this variety at such small scales may indicate a mixture of
different surface materials. Tethys was previously known to have color
differences on its surface, especially on its trailing side, but this
kind of color diversity is new to imaging scientists. For a clear-filter
view of this terrain, see PIA07736.
This view is centered on terrain at approximately 4.2 degrees south
latitude and 357 degrees west longitude on Tethys. The view has been
rotated so that north on Tethys is up.
The images for this view were obtained using the Cassini spacecraft
narrow-angle camera at distances ranging from approximately 18,400 to
19,000 kilometers (11,400 to 11,800 miles) from Tethys and at a
Sun-Tethys-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 17 degrees. Image scale is 213
meters (700 feet) per pixel.
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 and its two onboard cameras were
designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center
is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.
For additional images visit the Cassini imaging team homepage http://ciclops.org.
