<p>"since I believe the atmosphere's opacity changes in day time and night time" maybe to a very small factor, somewhere in the upper atmosphere, in the UV-wavelengths where plasma opacities play a role.<br>
But not in the optical, where the bulk density of the atmosphere plays a role, wich at 1.6 bar doesn't change much between day and night. </p>

<p>Your assertion "So in visible light, Titan looks like an almost uniform ball of beige, yellowish, golden brown." is incorrect, where do you take that from? The optical depth integral is symmetrical both ways (ignoring scattering), so if we by far cannot see the surface, then one will certainly not be able to see Saturn from the surface.<br>
There is also <a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/19085/are-there-other-pictures-of-titan-surface-from-huygens">only one existing photo taken on Titans surface</a>, so not sure where you get this idea from.</p>

<p>Apart from the other statement "Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a thick atmosphere, similar to what our Earth's atmosphere was before life 'appeared'", which is a questionable statement at best.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-09T15:59:47.380Z
Oh you misunderstood me... prehaps I should point out that it looks orange beige yellowish BECAUSE of its atmosphere. I did not mention the surface
Victorbrine Cassini
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-23T11:10:43.643Z
@VictorbrineCassini: Not at all. It is clear that Titan's colour is due to its atmosphere and not its surface. But this has a deeper reason, namely because the optical depth of the atmosphere is more than one. So no matter which way you look through the atmosphere, if it's Saturn->Titan or Titan->Saturn, you will only see the atmosphere, not what's hiding behind it.
AtmosphericPrisonEscape
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-22T17:33:24.133Z
Actually wouldn't looking from Saturn->Titan have to go through twice the atmosphere as Titan->Saturn?  Because the light hitting Titan's surface would have to go through the atmosphere, and then again on its way to Saturn? Voyager 1 was able to see some features on Titan with modern image processing.
IronEagle
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-09-07T20:40:18.257Z
2018-09-07T20:40:18.257Z
AtmosphericPrisonEscape
<p>Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a thick atmosphere, similar to what our Earth's atmosphere was before life "appeared". It also orbits Saturn close enough to actually see it beautifully in the sky... or can it?</p>

<p>Titan has a very thick and hazy atmosphere. Tholin seems to be the main factor of this "haziness". Also we can't see Titan's surface from space without infrared instruments. So in visible light, Titan looks like an almost uniform ball of beige, yellowish, golden brown because of its atmosphere, hiding the surface below.</p>

<p>So this should probably be the same case the other way around, right? Can we see Saturn from the surface of Titan, or does the haziness hide the parent planet from view during day time and night time (since I believe the atmosphere's opacity changes in day time and night time)?</p>

<planetary-atmosphere><saturn><atmospheric-effects><titan>
Is it possible to see Saturn from Titan's surface, day and night?
Victorbrine Cassini
# Is it possible to see Saturn from Titan's surface, day and night?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-09-07)

Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a thick atmosphere, similar to what our Earth's atmosphere was before life "appeared". It also orbits Saturn close enough to actually see it beautifully in the sky... or can it?

Titan has a very thick and hazy atmosphere. Tholin seems to be the main factor of this "haziness". Also we can't see Titan's surface from space without infrared instruments. So in visible light, Titan looks like an almost uniform ball of beige, yellowish, golden brown because of its atmosphere, hiding the surface below.

So this should probably be the same case the other way around, right? Can we see Saturn from the surface of Titan, or does the haziness hide the parent planet from view during day time and night time (since I believe the atmosphere's opacity changes in day time and night time)?

**Tags:** planetary-atmosphere, saturn, atmospheric-effects, titan


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-09-07. Score: 3

"since I believe the atmosphere's opacity changes in day time and night time" maybe to a very small factor, somewhere in the upper atmosphere, in the UV-wavelengths where plasma opacities play a role.  
But not in the optical, where the bulk density of the atmosphere plays a role, wich at 1.6 bar doesn't change much between day and night.

Your assertion "So in visible light, Titan looks like an almost uniform ball of beige, yellowish, golden brown." is incorrect, where do you take that from? The optical depth integral is symmetrical both ways (ignoring scattering), so if we by far cannot see the surface, then one will certainly not be able to see Saturn from the surface.  
There is also [only one existing photo taken on Titans surface](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/19085/are-there-other-pictures-of-titan-surface-from-huygens), so not sure where you get this idea from.

Apart from the other statement "Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a thick atmosphere, similar to what our Earth's atmosphere was before life 'appeared'", which is a questionable statement at best.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Oh you misunderstood me... prehaps I should point out that it looks orange beige yellowish BECAUSE of its atmosphere. I did not mention the surface  
> **username_1**: @username_0: Not at all. It is clear that Titan's colour is due to its atmosphere and not its surface. But this has a deeper reason, namely because the optical depth of the atmosphere is more than one. So no matter which way you look through the atmosphere, if it's Saturn->Titan or Titan->Saturn, you will only see the atmosphere, not what's hiding behind it.  
> **username_2**: Actually wouldn't looking from Saturn->Titan have to go through twice the atmosphere as Titan->Saturn?  Because the light hitting Titan's surface would have to go through the atmosphere, and then again on its way to Saturn? Voyager 1 was able to see some features on Titan with modern image processing.  

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