Titan may have underground ocean
Posted: Sat, Mar 22, 2008, 10:32 AM ET (1432 GMT)
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, may have an ocean of water and ammonia under its surface, planetary scientists reported this week. The evidence for the subsurface ocean, published in the latest issue of the journal Science, comes from observations of the moon's rotation made by the Cassini spacecraft. Measurements of the locations of key landmarks on the moon's surface shifted from their expected positions by as much as 30 kilometers, suggesting that Titan's crust is decoupled from its core by n ocean about 100 kilometers below the surface. That ocean, coupled with the presence of organic compounds known to exist on the moon, makes it a potential habitat for life, much like the subsurface ocean thought to exist on Jupiter's moon Europa.
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, may have an ocean of water and ammonia under its surface, planetary scientists reported this week. The evidence for the subsurface ocean, published in the latest issue of the journal Science, comes from observations of the moon's rotation made by the Cassini spacecraft. Measurements of the locations of key landmarks on the moon's surface shifted from their expected positions by as much as 30 kilometers, suggesting that Titan's crust is decoupled from its core by n ocean about 100 kilometers below the surface. That ocean, coupled with the presence of organic compounds known to exist on the moon, makes it a potential habitat for life, much like the subsurface ocean thought to exist on Jupiter's moon Europa.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, October 19
Greedy black hole feeds via two spiral arms
Netherlands Research School for Astronomy — 12:39 pm ET (1639 GMT) Kymeta Selected As Multi-Orbit SATCOM Provider For U.S. Army’s NGC2 Pilot
Kymeta — 12:37 pm ET (1637 GMT) Solstar Space Signs $15 Million Global Agreement with Momentus
Solstar Space Co. — 12:36 pm ET (1636 GMT) ANT61 Signs LOI with Lumir
Space and Defense — 12:36 pm ET (1636 GMT) TracPlus and OroraTech Launch First-of-Its-Kind Two-Way Data Integration to Accelerate Wildfire Decision-Making
OroraTech — 12:35 pm ET (1635 GMT) |
