Cassini ISS Map of Titan’s surface

The map is shown in a simple cylindrical projection centered at 0°N and 180°W. The brightness variations revealed by ISS images indicate the presence of different surface materials characterized by different albedos rather than topographic shading. The map has a scale of 4 km per pixel. Actual resolution varies greatly across the map, with the best coverage (close to the map scale) near the center and edges of the map and the worst coverage on the trailing hemisphere (centered around 270°W). Imaging coverage in the northern polar region is only just beginning to improve, and will continue to do so over the next couple of years, as Titan approaches vernal equinox in August 2009 and the north pole comes out of shadow. Large, dark and presumably liquid-hydrocarbon- filled seas are becoming visible at high latitudes.