{"id":55268,"date":"2024-02-23T06:33:43","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T06:33:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4145cde2-2a65-49db-83fa-c426d341f7e5"},"modified":"2024-02-23T07:33:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T07:33:49","slug":"saturns-moon-titan-may-have-magic-disappearing-islands-floating-on-its-liquid-methane-seas","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/saturns-moon-titan-may-have-magic-disappearing-islands-floating-on-its-liquid-methane-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"Saturn’s moon Titan may have ‘magic’ disappearing islands floating on its liquid methane seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transient isles form then dissolve on Saturn moon\u2019s seas <\/p>

By Ezzy Pearson\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 23 February 2024 at 06:33 AM<\/p>

\n\n

It is possible for disappearing islands to float on the methane seas of Titan, Saturn\u2019s largest moon, a new study has found.<\/p>

Titan is a remarkable place, and on paper matches many of the properties of our own planet Earth.<\/p>

Titan is the only moon in our Solar System with an atmosphere.<\/p>

Of all the worlds in our Solar System, including the planets, it is the only place other than Earth that’s know to have liquid flowing on its surface: seas, lakes and rivers.<\/p>

Infrared images of Saturn’s moon Titan, captured by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/St\u00e9phane Le Mou\u00e9lic, University Of Nantes, Virginia Pasek, University Of Arizona<\/figcaption><\/figure>
These bodies are not filled with liquid water, but instead liquid hydrocarbons like methane and ethane.<\/p>
The largest seas on Titan stretch down hundreds of feet, and are hundreds of miles wide.<\/p>
Previous studies found that Titan’s lakes boast winds similar to Earth<\/a>.<\/p>
A new study found that islands of organic material may be floating on Titan’s liquid lakes, before disappearing.<\/p>
In 2014, NASA\u2019s Cassini spacecraft<\/a> spotted bright, transient dots in the moon\u2019s seas, called \u2018magic islands\u2019.<\/p>
$\"Images$
Images captured by Cassini show the evolution of a transient feature in a large hydrocarbon sea called ‘Ligeia Mare’ on Saturn’s moon Titan. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASI\/Cornell<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u201cI wanted to investigate whether the magic islands could actually be organics floating on the surface, like pumice that can float on water here on Earth, before finally sinking,” says Xinting Yu, from the University of Texas at San Antonio, who led the study.<\/p>
“For us to see the magic islands, they can\u2019t just float for a second and then sink. They have to float for some time, but not for forever either.”<\/p>
Yu\u2019s team determined that any organics that rained down from the atmosphere wouldn\u2019t immediately dissolve.<\/p>
If these clumps had the right amount of porosity, it would be possible for them to float on the seas.<\/p>
The clumps could amass near the shore, then break off to form the islands.<\/p>
**utsa.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n**
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