|Radar view of lake on Titan. Image credit: NASA/JPL Scientists
report definitive evidence of the presence of lakes filled with
liquid methane on Saturn's moon Titan in the journal Nature.
Radar imaging data from a July 22, 2006, flyby provide
convincing evidence for large bodies of liquid on Titan today. A
new false-color radar view gives a taste of what Cassini saw.
Some highlights of the article follow below. -Radar-dark patches
are interpreted as lakes based on their very low radar
reflectivity and morphological similarities to lakes, including
associated channels and location in topographic depressions.
-Radar-dark surfaces are smooth and most likely liquid, rock,
ice or organics. More than 75 radar-dark patches or lakes were
seen, ranging from 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) to more than 70
kilometers (43 miles) across. -Some lakes appear partly dry,
while others seem liquid-filled. Some of the partly filled lakes
may never have filled fully, or may have partly evaporated at
some point in the past. The dry lak