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| On Saturn's moon Titan, drizzles are made of methane: Study | | | New York | Oct 14
Aiming to settle on Titan in future? Well, just don't forget to bring your galoshes and umbrellas as on the Saturn's moon, the morning drizzles are made of methane.
Yes, a study by scientists in the US has revealed that on Titan, mornings are eclipsed by dreary rainfall of methane which feeds rivers and seas that carve the surface like water does on Earth.
According to the scientists at the University of Berkeley, who have published their findings in the 'Science' journal, "A lot of the methane rain is concentrated in the hills of the (Titan) moon's large continent, Xanadu." Until now, however, the scientists were unsure how the methane got from the ground to the sky and vice versa. Although rain was the obvious candidate, no one had been able to actually see it raining. Titan is about one billion miles from Earth, so charting the local weather is a challenge.
"Titan's topography could be causing this drizzle. The rain could be caused by processes similar to those on Earth: Moisture laden clouds pushed upslope by winds condense to form a coastal rain.
"The drizzle appears to dissipate after about 10:30 a.M. Titan time. Because Titan rotates so slowly, the morning sprinkle lasts about three Earth days, conditions that might test the hardiest Brit," according to study team member Imke de Pater, an astronomy Professor at the university.
Some years back, NASA's Cassini spacecraft, had gathered data supporting the existence of frozen methane clouds at higher elevations with possible drizzle lower in the atmosphere. |
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