The rains of Titan

For the first time, the Cassini spacecraft has documented extensive rainstorms in the equatorial regions of Titan. The rains were already known to fill the many lakes near the moon’s north and south poles, but now also appear to occur at lower latitudes, in seasonal cycles reminiscent of those on Earth, except of course, that Titan’s rains are liquid methane instead of water. But the hydrological processes are remarkably similar.

Storm clouds near Titan's equator. Credit: NASA/JPL/SSI

There are also many riverbeds on the surface, and the Huygens probe had previously landed in or near one of them back in 2005 and found the surface soil still damp.

More images and animated video clips here.