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Saturn's Largest Moon Looks a Lot Like Earth in New Composite Photo
Saturn's Largest Moon Looks a Lot Like Earth in New Composite Photo
Sep 21, 2024 5:57 PM

Saturn's largest moon Titan glows greenish in this new composite image from NASA. (NASA)

In a new infrared composite image, Saturn's largest moon glows green and blue, almost like an alter-ego of our own planet Earth.

Dubbed "" by the Daily Mail, Titan's coloration in this image captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft is due to an infrared mapping spectrometer that penetrated through the hazy atmosphere to show a detailed glimpse of Titan's surface.

The image was taken during the T-114 flyby on Nov. 13 and shows a "late northern spring view" of contrasting bright northern latitudes and darker southern latitudes, NASA said in the .

According to NASA, Cassini's approach altitude was 6,200 miles for this photo, though the spacecraft normally can get as close as 750 miles.

Cassini is currently on its second extended mission, the Cassini Solstice Mission, which will continue until September 2017. On the mission's website, NASA explains that this extended journey to Saturn allows the probe to observe the planet from just after its winter solstice until its summer solstice, studying a on Saturn for the first time.

Cassini Spacecraft Marks 10 Years At Saturn

This August 1998 NASA file image shows a true color photo of Saturn assembled from Voyager 2 spacecraft. (NASA/HO/AFP)

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