First colour picture from the surface of Titan

This image was returned yesterday, 14 January 2005, by ESA's Huygens probe during its successful descent to land on Titan. This is the coloured view, following processing to add reflection spectra data, gives a better indication of the actual colour of the surface. Initially thought to be rocks or ice blocks, they are more pebble-sized. The two rock-like objects just below the middle of the image are about 15 centimetres (left) and 4 centimetres (centre) across respectively, at a distance of about 85 centimetres from Huygens. The surface is darker than originally expected, consisting of a mixture of water and hydrocarbon ice. There is also evidence of erosion at the base of these objects, indicating possible fluvial activity.

Credits: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Lunar Eclipse May 2004 by Kevin Pearce


  Taken at prime focus of 8" Meade LX90 SCT

Camera = Canon 
Model = Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL 
DateTime = 2004:05:05 19:18:25 
ExposureTime = 8/1
FNumber = 0/1
ISOSpeedRatings = 400
FocalLength = 2000mm
ExifImageWidth = 3072
ExifImageLength = 2048

These 2 photographs are from a
sequence of 6 supplied by Bruce Dickson
The whole set can be found on the Website

Here are his words on the images

This is a sequence that were taken from my front garden on the night of 13/14 April, 2004.
The skies vary between bad and awful 

(limiting unaided visual magnitude is around 2-2.5 on an average evening).
The images were captured using a modified LX200/12, operating at about f/3 and a Starlight Xpress HX516. Each image was assembled from 16x30 second unguided exposures. The exposures were corrected for dark frame, but owing to the light pollution it's not practical to record a flat field. I synthesised a flat field after the exposures were aligned and stacked.

Besides that, there's a modest contrast stretch to enhance fainter nebulosity - no further processing.