Cassini spots Titan ‘mini-Nile’ Largest off-Earth river seen so
far NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has sent back images of what the
space agency says is “the first time images have revealed a
river system this vast and in such high resolution anywhere
other than Earth”. NASA image: Mini-Nile on Titan The river
system on Saturn’s moon Titan has tickled the scientists because
of its resemblance to the river Nile: the “mini-Nile” is more
than 400 km long and includes a spreading delta where it empties
into a sea. Don’t, however, expect to spot a Titanian Cleopatra
dragging lazy fingers behind a slave-paddled boat: the river
itself is probably liquid hydrocarbons, NASA says, based on the
dark colours in the image and the apparently-smooth surface.
Titan’s “water cycle” – except of course that it’s not water –
involves ethane and methane rather than H2O. In its press
announcement, NASA suggests that the river’s path also reveals
something of the ground underneath. “Though there are some
short, local meanders, the relat