steep-sided canyons filled with liquid hydrocarbons tagged posts

Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, has features that resemble Earth’s geology, with deep, steep-sided canyons. Credit: Cassini/NASA/JPL

Although Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is surrounded by a thick, hazy atmosphere, Cornell astronomers have revealed that the moon’s terrain features deep, steep-sided canyons filled with liquid hydrocarbons. While NASA’s Cassini mission previously had imaged the channels flowing into the large northern sea Ligeia Mare, the new observations used the Cassini radar’s altimetry mode to measure their topography. The surprising results showed canyons hundreds of feet deep featuring specular reflections from the channel floors, the first direct evidence that they are currently filled with liquid.

“Earth is warm and rocky, with rivers of water, while Titan is cold and ...