Saturn

Ice on Titan’s lakes and seas: implications for possible life?

Artist's conception of possible ice floes on a Titanian sea.Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / USGS
Artist’s conception of possible ice floes on a Titanian sea.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / USGS

Apart from being composed of liquid methane instead of water, the rivers, lakes and seas of Saturn’s moon Titan are amazingly similar in appearance to those on Earth. The hydrological cycle is also very similar, with Titanian rain replenishing them.

Read MoreIce on Titan’s lakes and seas: implications for possible life?

Cassini finds alien version of ‘Nile River’ on Titan

Titan’s version of the Nile River stretches across this radar image; part of the Ligeia Mare sea is also visible on the right side of the image. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASI

Want to go river rafting on Titan? The largest moon of Saturn is the only other place in the solar system known to have rivers, lakes and seas on its surface. Appearance-wise, they are eerily similar to their earthly counterparts, but are composed of liquid methane instead of water, in Titan’s extremely cold environment. Now, the Cassini spacecraft has found the largest Titanian river system yet, similar to the Nile River on Earth, as announced on December 12, 2012.

Read MoreCassini finds alien version of ‘Nile River’ on Titan

Stunning new views of swirling storms and hexagon at Saturn’s north pole

The dramatic, swirling storms at Saturn’s north pole. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

Addendum: there is also now a beautiful colour version of one of Cassini’s hexagon photos here, thanks to Jason Major.

The Cassini spacecraft has been sending back amazing images of Saturn and its moons on a regular basis, and some new ones just taken yesterday are no exception.

Read MoreStunning new views of swirling storms and hexagon at Saturn’s north pole

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