This was my first research experience, and it was through the NASA Space Grant program, from September 2002 until May 2003. I worked with Dr. Ralph Lorenz at the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona. My project was to create realistic simulated images of the surface and atmosphere of Titan. The project was partly artistic, partly scientific. Since the atmosphere is optically impenetrable, little is known about the surface of Saturn's moon. The Cassini mission to Saturn dropped the Huygens probe through the atmosphere of Titan and onto the surface, shedding more light on the conditions. In anticipation of this event in early 2005, the images that I created were used in articles about Titan, in order to give a visual impression of what could be expected from the Huygens mission.

First, I gathered data on the possible range of parameters of the conditions on the surface, which is expected to have hydrocarbon liquids as well as ice and rock. Using a variety of sources, including data from other moons, orbital physics, and data from the literature, realistic values for parameters like crater density, mountain heights, atmospheric profile and wave sizes were estimated. Then I built these parameters into a visual 3D model of the moon. For example, when placing a crater on the surface, I used height profiles from real craters to develop the terrain for the model. From this model, I could render images of the surface and atmosphere, giving a "photo" of the Titan model.

Once a working model was in place we used more imaginative science to create interesting artistic images. A rainbow on Titan would have gaps where the atmosphere is strongly absorbent, so from the atmospheric composition and atmospheric optics, we calculated how a rainbow would appear on Titan. Another image I created was that of a methane seashore, complete with waves, a ghostly Saturn in the background, and a 3D model of the Huygens probe about to splashdown. This image was popular and was used in several magazines accompanying articles about Titan.

Images from the project were published in Physics Today (4/04), Sky and Telescope (5/03), EOS journal (4/8/03), Volcanic Worlds (a book on planetary vulcanism), and various internet sites

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