High-Resolution Cassini RADAR Scatterometer Images of Titan's Surface

Details High-Resolution Cassini RADAR Scatterometer Images of Titan's Surface High-Resolution Cassini RADAR Scatterometer Images of Titan's Surface

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.5605w&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #56.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.585

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The Cassini RADAR scatterometer has acquired observations to date of about 40% of Titan's surface at resolutions averaging just under 100 km, where the resolution cell size is set by the real aperture of the radar antenna. Finer resolution (0.3-1 km) images have been acquired by RADAR in synthetic-aperture (SAR) mode of about 10% of the surface. Additional techniques have been developed to use the SAR processor at larger distances (denoted High-SAR) for increased high-resolution (2-3 km) coverage, though with very narrow swath sizes (see West et al., this conference). In this paper, we demonstrate that complex processing methods, specifically range compression and unfocused SAR processing, can also be applied to the data collected in rastered scatterometer mode, achieving resolutions near 15 km and maintaining 10 or more radar "looks.” Despite poorer resolution, rastered scatterometry has two advantages over SAR and High-SAR: 1) greater surface coverage is possible with less data volume, and 2) the surface is sampled over a wider range of incidence angles, so that important characteristics like dielectric constant and surface slope may be estimated. Improving the resolution of the scatterometer's near-global backscatter maps will significantly enhance the unique knowledge that RADAR contributes to the understanding of Titan and its fascinating surface. Here, we present examples of scatterometer coverage of Titan at its highest resolution. This work was carried out at Stanford University, under contract with the Cassini Project of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) / National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

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