NASA Cassini Research: NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has made a major discovery about Saturn’s moons. According to data received from Cassini, a sea of hydrocarbons exists on Saturn’s moon Titan. Cassini has collected a lot of information about Saturn and its icy moon. Cassini’s mission ended in 2017 after diving into a huge ring, but the data it collected during its investigation over the last 13 years is now being researched.
Cassini’s radar has given interesting information about the seas of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan’s surface. Saturn’s Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system, apart from Earth, human life is now being searched on this planet. Because this planet is very similar to Earth. This planet wrapped in orange haze is the only place other than Earth where there are liquid seas. At present, these seas are not made of water but of nitrogen and organic compounds – methane and ethane.
Titan has Earth-like seas
In this study, three seas have been found near the North Pole of Titan, of which ‘Kraken Mare’ is the largest. It is equal to the Caspian Sea of Eurasia. Apart from this, ‘Ligeia Mare’ is the second largest sea, which is equal to Lake Superior of North America. At the same time, ‘Punga Mare’ is the third largest sea on this Titan, it is as big as Africa’s Lake Victoria.
It rains liquid methane on Titan
Saturn’s moon Titan is 3200 miles or 5150 km wide. It is the second largest moon in our solar system after Jupiter’s Ganymede. This Titan is much larger than the planet Mercury. Titan and Earth are the only planets in our solar system where liquid rains from clouds. Their liquids flow into rivers, seas and lakes on the surface. After this, these liquids evaporate into the sky to start the hydrological process again.
What is the difference between Earth and Titan?
The only difference between the two planets is that on Earth, clouds rain water. On Titan, evaporated clouds spew methane, while methane is known as a gas on Earth. On Earth, methane is in the form of gas, while on Titan, methane is in liquid form due to the cold climate. A large research paper on this research was published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday. The lead author of this study, Cornell University engineer and planetary scientist Valerio Poggiali, has given detailed information. He said that ‘Titan is a planet like Earth, which has a dense nitrogen atmosphere. A methane-based hydrological system runs here.’
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