NASA captures Titan's Dunes of Shangri La

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has radar vision that allows it to peer through the haze that surrounds Saturn's largest moon, Titan. This video focuses on Shangri-la, a large, dark area on Titan filled with dunes. The long, linear dunes are thought to be comprised of grains derived from hydrocarbons that have settled out of Titan's atmosphere. Cassini has shown that dunes of this sort encircle most of Titan's equator. Scientists can use the dunes to learn about winds, the sands they're composed of, and highs and lows in the landscape.

The radar image was obtained by the Cassini Synthetic Aperture radar (SAR) on July 25, 2016, during the mission's 122nd targeted Titan encounter.

Credit: NASA