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The possibility remained that liquid ethane and methane might be found on Titan's polar regions, where they were expected to be abundant and stable. [7] In Titan's south polar region, an enigmatic dark feature named Ontario Lacus was the first suspected lake identified, possibly created by clouds that are observed to cluster in the area. [8]
Titan appears to have lakes of liquid ethane or liquid methane on its surface, as well as rivers and seas, which some scientific models suggest could support hypothetical non-water-based life. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] [ 21 ] It has been speculated that life could exist in the liquid methane and ethane that form rivers and lakes on Titan's surface, just as ...
While only the second-largest of Titan's methane seas, Ligeia "contains enough liquid methane to fill three Lake Michigans". [21] In May 2013, Cassini's radar altimeter observed Titan's Vid Flumina channels, defined as a drainage network connected to Titan's second-largest hydrocarbon sea, Ligeia Mare. Analysis of the received altimeter echoes ...
Synthetic aperture radar image mosaic of Titan's north polar region. Vid Flumina is a river system (termed Flumen) of liquid methane and ethane on Saturn's moon Titan.It is more than 400 km (249 mi) long and flows into Titan's second largest hydrocarbon sea, Ligeia Mare. [1]
Lakes of methane and ethane are found across Titan's polar regions. Methane condenses into clouds in the atmosphere, and then precipitates onto the surface. This liquid methane then flows into the lakes. Some of the methane in the lakes will evaporate over time, and form clouds in the atmosphere again, starting the process over.
On Titan, clouds spew methane - which is a gas on Earth - in liquid form due to the frigid climate. "Titan is really an Earth-like world with a diverse set of very familiar surface morphologies ...
The findings of the Huygens probe indicate that Titan's atmosphere periodically rains liquid methane and other organic compounds onto the moon's surface. [15] In October 2007, observers noted an increase in apparent opacity in the clouds above the equatorial Xanadu region, suggestive of "methane drizzle", though this was not direct evidence for ...
Titan 'sea' (left) compared at scale to Lake Superior (right) Radar images obtained on July 21, 2006, appear to show lakes of liquid hydrocarbon (such as methane and ethane) in Titan's northern latitudes. This is the first discovery of currently existing lakes beyond Earth. [3]