spacetoday.net: First Huygens pictures of Titan released

First Huygens pictures of Titan released

Posted: Fri, Jan 14, 2005, 8:51 PM ET (0151 GMT)
Huygens image of landing site (ESA)

ESA released late Friday the first images of the surface of Titan taken earlier in the day by its Huygens probe, revealing a landscape filled with boulders as well as evidence of flowing liquid. The grayscale images were taken by Huygens during its descent through the atmosphere and after landing, and were relayed back to Earth via the Cassini orbiter. One image, taken after Huygens touched down, shows a flat field strewn with boulders that sciences believe are ice blocks. Another image, taken during the probe's descent, shows what scientists believe are drainage channels flowing towards a shoreline. More images and other data collected by Huygens are expected to be released by ESA on Saturday.