E-StoreThe Huygens probe discovered fluid-formed channels in the arid equatorial regions of Titan
Discovery
Methane Clouds Observed Near Titan's Equator May Explain Presence of Riverbeds on the Surface
The Huygens probe discovered fluid-formed channels in the arid equatorial regions of Titan, Saturn's largest moon
 Gemini North adaptive optics image of Titan showing storm feature. |
August 12, 2009
On Titan, Saturn's largest moon, methane clouds drift through a dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere, clustering mainly in the polar regions. Methane lakes dot Titan's surface, also at high latitudes. Closer to the moon's equator, by contrast, clouds appear rarely if at all, and the surface seems arid. But in January 2005, the Huygens probe, after detaching from the Cassini spacecraft and descending through Titan's atmosphere, gave planetary scientists their first close-up view of the moon's surface. Huygens imaged small channels and river beds at low latitudes, in regions that scientists had assumed to be devoid of flowing liquids that could carve such features. Now, astronomers working at Earth-based telescopes have for the first time observed, near Titan's equator, large and persistent clouds that might be capable of raining liquid methane onto the surface.
the abv article was frm nsf(national science foundation) for further detials http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115421&govDel=USNSF_51
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