Thursday, March 15, 2007
The Seas of Titan
Image Credit NASA/JPLThe latest flyby of Titan by Cassini has found seas on Titan. Well, big lakes really, but really big lakes.
Lakes are nothing new on Titan. But some of these are the size of the largest lakes on Earth, and one is bigger than the Aral Sea. Given that Titan is about the size of Mercury (about 2.5 times smaller than Earth), I suppose we can consider bodies of liquid larger than the Aral sea seas.
Providing they are bodies of liquid of course. Basically these are flat, smooth radar reflective areas. Normally that would mean liquid, but Titan is an alien world. If it is liquid, it will likely be a mixture of ethane and methane, not the best thing for a quick dip. There is also an animation that can be obtained at this page, but even the small one is 50 Mb!!!
Hey that was quick! The Wikipedia entry on Titan already has the lake images up!
# posted by Ian Musgrave @ 11:33 pm 
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
Click to read about or order
