February 27, 2022
On this date in 2007, the Cassini spacecraft completed a flyby of Saturn’s moon Titan. Christiaan Huygens discovered this moon in 1655 and named it Saturni Luna – Latin for “moon of Saturn”. Titan was only the 6th moon ever discovered after our own and the four Galilean moons of Jupiter. It wasn’t until 1847 that it was officially named Titan after the Titans of Greek mythology which includes Cronus, the Greek equivalent of Saturn.
This image of Saturn and Titan was captured in 2012 by the Cassini spacecraft. The black lines below Titan are the shadows of Saturn’s rings. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
