This image from the Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument on the Cassini
spacecraft shows the radar-bright region Xanadu and two circular features
interpreted to be degraded impact craters. In radar images, bright regions
indicate a rough or scattering material, while a dark region might be
smoother or more absorbing. The image was acquired during a flyby of Titan
on April 30, 2006.
Near the top of the image is a 70-kilometer-wide (47-mile-wide) impact
structure. In contrast to a similarly sized crater called Sinlap (see
PIA07368), this crater shows a prominent central peak, indicating
that the interaction between the impact and the crust was different in
this region.
Near the bottom of the image is another circular feature with a dark
central region that does not show evidence of a central peak. Numerous
radar-bright channels cut across the image, indicating that liquids have
flowed in this region.
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 was built by JPL and the Italian Space Agency, 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/home/index.cfm.