Titan's odd spot observed by different instruments

NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini's varied array of scientific instruments show the enigmatic feature with complementary information. This montage shows the spot in infrared wavelengths from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on the left, from the Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) in the centre, and a combination of both data sets on the right.

When put together, the two different views show more than either does separately. The VIMS team noted the bright region in the image on the left after Cassini's 31 March 2004 Titan encounter.

It seems clear that both instruments are detecting the same basic feature on Titan's surface. This bright patch may be due to an impact event, landslide, cryovolcanism or atmospheric processes. Its distinct colour and brightness suggest that it may have formed relatively recently.

The false-colour image on the left was created using images taken at 1.7 microns (blue), 2.0 microns (green), and 5.0 microns (red). The images that comprise this view were taken by the VIMS instrument on 16 April 2005. Several views were stitched together to make a mosaic. The result was then reprojected to simulate the view from the imaging camera so that the two could be directly compared.

The centre image was taken by the narrow-angle camera on 10 December 2004 using a spectral filter centred at 938 nanometres. The image was taken at a distance of 1.5 million kilometres from Titan and has a pixel scale of 9 kilometres per pixel. The image is centred on 8 degrees south latitude, 112 degrees west longitude. This image has been contrast enhanced and sharpened to improve surface feature visibility.