Stock Photo Description:Photo of first pictures of Saturn's moon Titan from the Huygens probe. This is a photo by NASA Public Domain showing first pictures of Saturn's moon Titan from the Huygens probe.
These are some of the first pictures returned by the European Space Agency's Huygens probe during its successful descent and landing on Saturn's moon Titan.
At top left, a colored view of the moon's surface shows pebble-sized objects originally thought to be rocks or ice blocks. The two objects just below the middle of the image are about 6 inches and 1.5 inches across, respectively, and are about 33 inches from Huygens. The surface is darker than originally expected, made up of a mixture of water and hydrocarbon ice. There is also evidence of erosion at the base of the objects.
At top right, a composite image from about 5 miles up shows the boundary between lighter-colored uplifted terrain, marked with what appear to be drainage channels, and darker lower areas.
At bottom, a composite from about 5 miles up shows a full 360-degree view around Huygens. The left-hand side shows a boundary between light and dark areas. The white streaks seen near this boundary could be ground "fog."
All of these images were taken with the Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer, one of two NASA instruments on the probe.
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