|
chaloobi
SFN Regular
1620 Posts |
 Posted - 02/02/2009 : 09:12:22
|
This is very cool stuff (no pun intended).
On Titan: It's Raining Methane
It's been raining liquid methane on Titan. That's according to an analysis of just-released images revealing a possible new lake in the south polar region of Saturn's largest moon.
Measuring about 3,200 miles (5,150 kilometers) across, Titan is larger than the planet Mercury and about 40 percent the diameter of Earth. It is the only moon in the solar system with a dense, planet-like atmosphere (10 times denser than Earth's).
The possible new lake showed up in images taken in 2005 by the Cassini spacecraft's Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS). Cassini's photos taken in 2004 of that same region didn't show such a dark spot.
Scientists think the most plausible explanation for the sudden appearance is a lake filled by recent rainfall.
This conclusion, detailed in the Jan. 29 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters, confirms the thinking of various Cassini scientists who have suspected the presence of such lakes on Titan, as well as methane rain. |
More at the link, including methane thunderheads: http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090202/sc_space/ontitanitsrainingmethane
|
-Chaloobi
|
|
Titan Rains Methane!
