August 2, 2006
On the day you were born, the universe was already ancient beyond measure — and yet, in all those billions of years, it had never once...
Methane Rain Possible on Titan
Birthday · August 2, 2006
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
Free PNG · 1080 × 1350 · No account needed
Image rights and credit requirements apply when sharing or reusing imagery.
Date & occasion only
Change the year
APOD published August 2, 2006. Credit: Mark Garlick (Space-art.co.uk). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Might it rain cold methane on Saturn's Titan? Recent analyses of measurements taken by the Huygen's probe that landed on Titan in 2005 January indicate that the atmosphere is actually saturated with methane at a height of about 8 kilometers. Combined with observations of a damp surface and lakes near the poles, some astrobiologists conclude that at least a methane drizzle is common on parts of Titan. Other astrobiologists reported computer models of the clouded moon that indicate that violent methane storms might even occur, complete with flash floods carving channels in the landscape. The later scenario is depicted in the above drawing of Titan. Lightning, as also depicted above, might well exist on Titan but has not been proven. The findings increase speculation that a wet Titanian surface might be hospitable to unusual forms of life.
Image credit: Mark Garlick (Space-art.co.uk)