Probe captures incredible images of Saturn’s moon Titan - which could host life

A NASA probe has captured crystal-clear images of the surface of Titan, a moon of Saturn where 300-foot dunes of frozen chemicals roll across the surface.

NASA has previously said that liquid water may exist deep under Titan’s surface – making it one of the places in the solar system where life could exist.

The six new infrared images were created using 13 years of data acquired by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument on board NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.

Cassini was deliberately steered into Saturn’s atmosphere after 20 years observing the planet last year – and the new views were created by combining data.

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NASA says, ‘Observing the surface of Titan in the visible region of the spectrum is difficult, due to the globe enshrouding haze that envelops the moon.

‘This is primarily because small particles called aerosols in Titan’s upper atmosphere strongly scatter visible light.

‘But Titan’s surface can be more readily imaged in a few infrared “windows” — infrared wavelengths where scattering and absorption is much weaker. This is where the VIMS instrument excelled, parting the haze to obtain clear images of Titan’s surface.’