Close Encounter of a First Kind

This movie is a condensed version of Cassini's 44-hour approach to Titan. During the movie, the planet rotates about 40 degrees and the spacecraft's distance to the moon ranges from 1,800,000 to 700,000 kilometers (1,000,000 to 435,000 miles). At is closest, on Oct. 26, 2004, Cassini was 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) above the moon. Clouds are seen forming and evolving near the south pole. The images making up this movie were captured by Cassini's imaging science subsystem through near-infrared filters.