Saturn's Moon of a Thousand Lakes

Recent images of the moon Titan reveal a world of methane lakes.
Image: NASA

In July of 2006, NASA's Cassini spacecraft penetrated the dense haze hiding Titan's surface. The images reveal the world of Saturn's moon, a place so removed from the sun that it reaches minus 290 degrees. Methane rains fall from this moon's clouds, forming methane rivers that flow into lakes. The atmosphere's dynamics are similar to that of the Earth, making Titan even more interesting to scientists. Titan is 3,200 miles wide, making it larger than Earth's moon. Findings from the Cassini spacecraft were published in Nature.

--The USA Today has more information

Ethane Snow Flakes on Saturn's Moon Titan

Ethane clouds are seen in red on Saturn's moon Titan.

Image: BBC.co.uk

The Cassini spacecraft--a joint operation between Nasa (United States), the European Space Agency (Esa), and the Italian Space Agency (Asi)--has found evidence of massive clouds of ethane on Saturn's moon Titan. Scientists think this cloud system rains or snows ethane into lakes of liquid ethane on the surface. Ethane is an odorless, colorless, flammable gas. The findings are published in the journal Science.

--BBC.co.uk has more information