Saturn moon may have methane-filled canyons
AUG 15, 2016
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.0210029
New York Times : NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has pinged Saturn’s largest moon and found deep canyons probably filled with liquid methane. By bouncing radar signals off the moon’s surface, Valerio Poggiali of Sapienza University of Rome and colleagues were able to determine that the canyons are about 1600 m wide and up to 570 m deep. Based on reflections off the canyons’ surfaces, the researchers say the canyons could be filled with liquid, probably the same as that filling the nearby sea into which the channels flow. Because of Titan’s extremely low temperatures, methane can exist as liquid, ice, and vapor, much like water does on Earth.
© 2016. American Institute of Physics