Scientists working with NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have witnessed clouds of methane travelling across the northern region of Titan – Saturn’s largest moon – on October 29-30, which they’ve turned into an incredible time-lapse video.
In the video provided by NASA, it was shown there that certain sets of clouds are shaping and move over the surface and then fade. There were also long cloud streaks that lie between 49 and 55 degrees north latitude. Meanwhile, the general region of cloud activity is enduring during the course of observation.
Cassini spacecraft also spotted small clouds over the region of small lakes in the north. There is also a bright cloud between Neagh Lacus and Punga Mare, then faded during the course of the movie sequence. These small clouds are stirring at a speed of about 0.7 to 1.4 miles per hour ( 1 to 2 meters) per second.
This time-lapse movie that spans 11 hours, with one frame filmed every 20 minutes, could grant the scientists to monitor the development of the dynamics of the clouds, as they move over the area and then fade. It can also aid in identifying between noise in images and faint clouds or fog.
According to Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences of the United States of America, methane clouds were observed in Titan in the southern hemisphere later during southern spring. It was also observed near the South Pole in 2001. It is caused by a powerful solar heating at the pole ahead of the Southern summer solstice. Meanwhile, the first observation of midlatitude clouds after the Souther summer solstice was seen in 2005, which was substantiated by Cassini spacecraft.
