[X] My Assistant

[Juramike]

T43 Mission description is now up!

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/prod...description.pdf

Some highlights:

• Radiometry of western Fensal-Aztlan (will fill in a big chunk of the radiometry map)
• SAR RADAR of Tui Regio in Xanadu and Tortola Facula as well as a very interesting piece of terrian in NE Shangri-La. (Lotsa bright-dark boundaries, maybe some cool islands, dunes, "shallower" areas ) Also some imaging over Dilmun.
• Cloud imaging by VIMS and ISS observations

-Mike

[titanicrivers]

I can see Xanadu as older higher ground rather than a basin. Even though it may have more craterform structures none of them look very recent and a few are altered by what is still likely altering Xanadu’s topography namely fluvial erosional activity. This is evidenced (especially the western portion which has possible daily am drizzle) by the many channels with dendritic branches (better known as rivers, see A below) that appear unaltered by craters or dunes and in the central hilly region where short, stubby radar dark channels and elongated possible lakes are found (see B below). These may be sapping-spring-like fluvial alterations. I wouldn't be surprised if Xanadu was riddled with the same channels that Huygens saw in the brighter highlands at the tip of Adiri.
That Xanadu is not covered with dunes suggest its higher ground and must be swept clear of the sintered schizzle falling everywhere from above. Maybe it only seems to have more craters because the sand seas are covering craters on the lower terrain lowering the count there.
Hopefully in a few weeks we’ll have some more interesting images to ponder and speculate about.
A B