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Life imitates art? *nt*

Posted by Michael Hoskin on July 30, 2006, 6:52 am, in reply to "Titan may be riddled with caves"
66.18.197.183

--Previous Message--
: Strange, but true, from:
: http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9588-
:
: The highlands of Titan may be riddled with
: caves, according to the latest images of
: Saturn's giant moon.
:
: On 30 April, the Cassini spacecraft flew
: over a large bright region called Xanadu
: that spans about 4000 kilometres.
:
: Xanadu was already thought to be a highland
: area, where bright hills of ice poke up
: above Titan's dark sooty plains. A new
: picture made with the spacecraft's
: haze-penetrating radar confirms this (watch
: a 6.7 Mb QuickTime movie of the radar
: images).
:
: In fact, the interior of the region is
: crossed by mountain chains that rise more
: than a kilometre high – while most of the
: moon appears relatively flat. "These
: are the highest mountains measured on Titan
: so far," says radar team member Ralph
: Lorenz of the University of Arizona in
: Tucson, US.
:
: But it seems that the mountains are not
: solid. The radio waves bouncing off Xanadu
: reveal that it has peculiar electrical
: properties – specifically a low dielectric
: constant.
:
: "The only reasonable material makeup
: that could have a very low dielectric
: constant and still hold together enough to
: form the structures that we see would be
: some sort of porous stuff – most likely
: porous water ice," says another team
: member, Steve Wall of NASA's Jet Propulsion
: Laboratory in Pasadena, California, US.
:
: Dark patches
: He suggests the region might be filled with
: caverns, presumably carved out by the
: methane rain that is thought to fall on
: Titan (see Methane rivers and rain shape
: Titan's surface).
:
: That rain would also have created the long
: river valleys that meander among the hills
: nearer the fringes of Xanadu. Cassini
: scientists speculate that these rivers could
: carry ice grains down to the plains to form
: the dunes seen on much of Titan's surface
: (see Colossal dunes swathe Saturn's giant
: moon).
:
: The highlands are also marked by small, dark
: patches that may be methane lakes –
: although, as elsewhere on the moon, there is
: no strong evidence of liquid still present
: on the surface.
:
: That could change this weekend when Cassini
: makes its first pass above the wintry north
: pole of Titan. The poles are the most likely
: places for lakes or seas to survive because
: they are cold enough to prevent any liquid
: methane on the surface from evaporating
: quickly.
:
: But what if there are no lakes near the
: pole? "If we don't find them there,
: then I will begin to wonder if they are
: visible on Titan at all," Lorenz told
: New Scientist
:
:

Message Thread:

Titan may be riddled with caves - zaran_klreza July 26, 2006, 9:56 am
- Life imitates art? *nt* - Michael Hoskin July 30, 2006, 6:52 am
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--Previous Message-- : : --Previous Message-- : Strange, but true, from: : : http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn9588- : : The highlands of Titan may be riddled with : caves, according to the latest images of : Saturn's giant moon. : : On 30 April, the Cassini spacecraft flew : over a large bright region called Xanadu : that spans about 4000 kilometres. : : Xanadu was already thought to be a highland : area, where bright hills of ice poke up : above Titan's dark sooty plains. A new : picture made with the spacecraft's : haze-penetrating radar confirms this (watch : a 6.7 Mb QuickTime movie of the radar : images). : : In fact, the interior of the region is : crossed by mountain chains that rise more : than a kilometre high – while most of the : moon appears relatively flat. "These : are the highest mountains measured on Titan : so far," says radar team member Ralph : Lorenz of the University of Arizona in : Tucson, US. : : But it seems that the mountains are not : solid. The radio waves bouncing off Xanadu : reveal that it has peculiar electrical : properties – specifically a low dielectric : constant. : : "The only reasonable material makeup : that could have a very low dielectric : constant and still hold together enough to : form the structures that we see would be : some sort of porous stuff – most likely : porous water ice," says another team : member, Steve Wall of NASA's Jet Propulsion : Laboratory in Pasadena, California, US. : : Dark patches : He suggests the region might be filled with : caverns, presumably carved out by the : methane rain that is thought to fall on : Titan (see Methane rivers and rain shape : Titan's surface). : : That rain would also have created the long : river valleys that meander among the hills : nearer the fringes of Xanadu. Cassini : scientists speculate that these rivers could : carry ice grains down to the plains to form : the dunes seen on much of Titan's surface : (see Colossal dunes swathe Saturn's giant : moon). : : The highlands are also marked by small, dark : patches that may be methane lakes – : although, as elsewhere on the moon, there is : no strong evidence of liquid still present : on the surface. : : That could change this weekend when Cassini : makes its first pass above the wintry north : pole of Titan. The poles are the most likely : places for lakes or seas to survive because : they are cold enough to prevent any liquid : methane on the surface from evaporating : quickly. : : But what if there are no lakes near the : pole? "If we don't find them there, : then I will begin to wonder if they are : visible on Titan at all," Lorenz told : New Scientist : : : :

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