NASA's Cassini spacecraft spotted the first reflection off a northern lake on Saturn's moon Titan
Posted 12.18.2009 at 1:10 pm
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Titan's Glinting Lake: Cassini's infrared vision allowed it to peer through the clouds and catch the sunlight sparkling on one of Titan's lakes. NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/DLR
Titan remains the only other planetary body besides Earth known to have liquid on its surface, and appears eerily similar to our world as far as rain and other weather patterns. But instead of liquid water, methane and ethane drizzle down from Titan's atmosphere and fill the many lakes dotting the moon.
The newly revealed visual and infrared image was taken back on July 8, just as the sun had begun to directly shine upon the northern lakes near the start of spring on Titan. Scientists matched the reflection to the southern shoreline of Kraken Mare, a lake that covers almost 150,000 square miles and sits in the northern hemisphere.
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Science, Jeremy Hsu, Cassini, ethane, kraken mare, lakes, methane, moons, Saturn, Space, titan"I was instantly excited because the glint reminded me of an image of our own planet taken from orbit around Earth, showing a reflection of sunlight on an ocean," said Katrin Stephan, a Cassini scientist at the German Aerospace Center in Berlin. "But we also had to do more work to make sure the glint we were seeing wasn't lightning or an erupting volcano."
A future NASA mission might even land a ship-like capsule in Kraken Mare, so that we can get up-close images of choppy methane waves.
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Breathtaking.
I thought nasa was going to send a boat like rover to that moon. Did that ever happen?
*boat-like
@aerosphere See the end of this story. It's still in the proposal stages, last I've heard.
Hey this is all very interesting and what not but when is NASA going to release an official update on their moon mission where they found water? I know they found water but they said they still have yet to determine exactly how much water and other details and that was over a month ago?
STOP SHARIA LAW AND STOP ISLAM BEFORE IT DRAGS THE WHOLE WORLD BACK INTO THE DARK AGES!!!!
Yes I agree with Jeremy HsuIt is the planning stages of sending a submerssible Boat like Robotic Probe out to one the Saturn Ice Moon's NASA is closely working with the U.S. Navy So this Robotic Probe can reaches the deepest part of surface of this Moon.At the same time U.S , Navy is working with NASA on cloaking devices for it's Ships or jet airplanes Remember the Philadelphia Experiment It really did happen back in the 1940's If United States doesn't Venture out in Space Who will ?No matter if it's done through Private Venture or Public . It must be done .
Katrin Stephan was quoted saying "But we also had to do more work to make sure the glint we were seeing wasn't lightning or an erupting volcano."
But Occam's razor removes those as possibilities, since the light is in the exact place it needs to be for it to be a sunlight reflection, but light from a volcano or lightning would be much more visible in the dark part of Titan.
Man, I thought for sure NASA would opt for the jet that could fly for 1 hour and then be lost forever. A boat, never saw that coming.
NASA has a lot of talk about a lot of exciting projects, only problem is mass funding for all of these projects. The cost of designing a "boat" to send to Titan, cost to get it there, cost for it to explore (if something doesn't happen to it), then just leave it. It is a very exciting prospect, but in these times of budget problems for them it is going to be tough. They have a lot they want to do, a lot of great things, but these great ideas hasn't seemed to up their budget yet.
My bad.
But Occam's razor removes those as possibilities, since the light is in the exact place it needs to be for it to be a sunlight reflection, but light from a volcano or lightning would be much more visible in the dark part of Titan.
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