Science in the Making. As the NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)/ Italian Space Agency Cassini mission is continuing to tour the system of Saturn, it has seen a yet unexplained, large, bright spot at Titan, Saturn's main moon. The mission scientists are trying to figure out what this feature is. The region is 300-mi (483-km) wide and it's located southeast of a vast, bright region called Xanadu. It's persistent both in color and location as it's mainly seen in the infrared. A good idea might be that this is a hot spot, that is a region related to plate tectonics, where some hot product from the moon's interior is emerging to the surface. Such an area might be due to a recent asteroid impact, or to cryovolcanism. Another explanation is that the spot might be a cloud resulting from airflow across low mountains or outgassing caused by geologic activity. At any rate, the bright spot seems linked to a relief feature which has been seen in other images of the surface. A definitive answer about what the spot is will be provided in July 2006 only, when the craft will image the area , it being in the night side of the moon. Should the spot keep being bright, this might be the evidence that it's really a hot spot. The Cassini mission is a thoroughful study of Saturn and its moons, primary mission of it is to last 4 years. picture site 'Amateur Astronomy' based on pictures NASA/JPL/University of Arizona and NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Space Science Institute