T82 Flyby page: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/files/20120219_Titan82_flyby_quicklook.pdf
CICLOPS Rev 161 Looking ahead article: http://www.ciclops.org/view/7080/Rev161?js=1
Why is CIRS data so interesting?
It can be used to determine upper atmospheric temperatures. Once you have the temperature profile, it can be used as the background and the teeny specific IR absorptions of the different molecule components can be teased out. Then you can see where the atmospheric components are located, their relative concentrations, and how they change with time.
Here is a cool summary of some earlier CIRS data and how it was used to infer atmospheric circulation (or barrier to circulation): http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/scitech/display.cfm?Print=1&ST_ID=2247&FIELDNAMES=
Note how cyanoacetylene (NC-CC-H) concentration spans over 2 orders of magnitude at the same altitude. (Figure 3 middle plot on right).
Titan is sophisticated.
Actually, the different lines of the different gases are not so teeny: they form the entire signal! I tried to find a non-pay picture of a CIRS spectrum and on this page there is a simulation of a 'limb' obervation:
http://www.markelowitz.com/titan.htm
CIRS measures the thermal radiation coming off Titan as a function of wavelength. The molecular signals are caused by the fact that different molecules absorb and emit only at very specific wavelengths. The difference in thermal flux for different wavelengths is basically a result of the difference in altitude (and corresponding temperature at those altitudes) at which the thermal radiation originates. At wavelengths of high absorption, the radiation comes from higher in the atmosphere (for non-limb observations). For optically thin limb observations (you can look straight through the atmosphere at space at the horizon) higher absorption by the gases means more radiation is emitted.
In both cases you first need to know the temperature of the atmosphere as a function of altitude before you can derive the amounts of gases present, because the thermal emission is dependent both on the temperature and the amount of absorption by the gases.
Here's an example of looking for seasonal variations: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011epsc.conf...20T
RGB composite of Titan created from Cassini raw images (Feb 16, 2012):
As a starting point, I use Photoshop curves and allow the maximum point of the red channel to be at 100% (230).
I drop the maximum point of green to be about 210, and blue to be about 180.
(Actually, I think it was Gordan who gave me these suggested values a few years ago...)
Then I drop the midpoint of the curve for each channel: usually blue is the most, green a little, and red just a touch, then basically just fiddle with things until it "looks" about right.
It's pretty subjective.
Great stuff Gordan (the rings one too). Keep posting.
Here's a raw image for the benefit of atmosphere fans who don't routinely check the Cassini site http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/raw/rawimagedetails/index.cfm?imageID=252519
Nice rendering Adam! (color looks a little off, see Mike and Ugordon's comments above)
Here's a view of Yalaing Terra from the wide angle camera taken Feb 19th from 44K km. Yalaing is highlighted (basically more contrasted using the levels adjustment in Photoshop) in the left panel. On the right are narrow angle camera images from about 1M km with a bit lower resolution. Upper right is pre arrow storm and lower right is the Dec 20 2010 PDS version post arrow storm. Current appearance still differs from those older images especially in area indicated (white arrow).
Menrva and Fensal are visible in this CL1 CB3 image from 2/29/2012 during Rev 161. The background color image is from the Solar System Simulator. http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/
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