Keck observations of Titan

Keck image of Titan from last Thursday, January 20 showing a relatively cloud-free day over the trailing hemisphere of Titan. The filter used for this image cover the methane window at 2.05 microns.

Unbeknownst to me until last week, the Keck telescope in Hawaii has been making regular obervations of Titan this observing season like they did last year. New this year is the emergence of mid-summer southern mid-latitude clouds, also seen by Cassini and Roe et al. starting late 2003. Polar clouds are still seen this observing season, though seamingly larger and more sporatic than last year. Only time will tell whether clouds will be seen at lower latitudes, like near the Huygens landing site as Titan approaches Equinox in 2009.