South Polar Cloud Animation Target Name:   Titan Spacecraft:   Cassini Orbiter Instrument:   Imaging Science Subsystem Produced by:   NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute Copyright:  NASA Copyright Free Policy Cross Reference:   PIA06124 Date Taken:   23 October 2004

• Titan
• Saturn

This animated gif of the south polar region of Titan was acquired over an 11.5-hour period on Oct. 23, 2004, as the Cassini spacecraft approached its first close encounter with Saturn's smoggy moon. The images were acquired with a near-infrared filter, which sees through the Titan stratospheric haze and reveals surface and lower tropospheric features. Aside from the slow rotation of the planet, a prominent polar cloud field often observed in ground-based images can be seen to evolve over the 11.5-hour period. The cloud evolution is complex and appears to include a general diverging motion.