Titan "seas" made of sand
Posted: Fri, May 5, 2006, 11:17 AM ET (1517 GMT)
Dark areas on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan previously thought to be liquid hydrocarbon oceans are in fact vast areas of sand dunes, scientists report. In a paper published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, researchers using radar data from the Cassini spacecraft concluded that the dark areas previous spotted in the moon's equatorial regions are seas of sand dunes similar to those found in Arabia or Namibia. The dunes are created by tidal-driven winds, rather than solar energy-driven winds. Unlike the Earth, the sands are not thought to be made of grains of silicates but instead some mixture of organic materials and/or water ice grains.
Dark areas on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan previously thought to be liquid hydrocarbon oceans are in fact vast areas of sand dunes, scientists report. In a paper published in Friday's issue of the journal Science, researchers using radar data from the Cassini spacecraft concluded that the dark areas previous spotted in the moon's equatorial regions are seas of sand dunes similar to those found in Arabia or Namibia. The dunes are created by tidal-driven winds, rather than solar energy-driven winds. Unlike the Earth, the sands are not thought to be made of grains of silicates but instead some mixture of organic materials and/or water ice grains.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, February 13
New European rocket Vega makes first flight
AFP — 6:40 am ET (1140 GMT) Satellites for Climate Checks Get Boost After Durban Talks
Bloomberg News — 6:40 am ET (1140 GMT) Vega shoots into space
Nature News — 6:39 am ET (1139 GMT) No future for Mars?
Voice of Russia — 6:39 am ET (1139 GMT) ESA’s new Vega launcher scores success on maiden flight
ESA — 6:37 am ET (1137 GMT) |