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[41.01] The Optical Depth of Haze in Titan's Troposphere Based on WF/PC2 Imaging

E. F. Young (Southwest Research Institute), P. Rannou (Service d'Aeronomie), C. P. McKay (NASA Ames Research Center), C. A. Griffith (Northern Arizona University), K. S. Noll (Space Telescope Science Institute)

We use a series of HST images to fit for the haze optical depth on Titan in the troposphere (below 40 km) and above. The absoprtion coefficient of methane varies by two orders of magnitude over the the range at which the HST images were obtained (890, 902, 916, 928, and 940 nm). The different filters probe different depths of Titan's atmosphere, allowing us to discriminate between haze that is above or below Titan's tropopause.

We have divided Titan into four latitudinal bands, in which we find the following optical depths due to haze alone (in addition to any opacity due to methane and nitrogen gas):