The mysterious case of the vanishing lakes

Infrared Titan    (Hargitai)

When going on vacation to a favorite lake, we usually expect it to be there from year to year.

Not necessarily so on Titan.  Its lakes are not made of water, but of liquid methane. “Data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft” shows them periodically disappearing.

Scientists are not quite sure why this is so.  It’s not that these lakes are just shallow ponds.  RADAR measures some to be more than 100 meters deep.

In order to solve this and other Titan mysteries, NASA is thinking about sending its Dragonfly drone to further explore Saturn’s largest moon.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/nasas-cassini-finds-disappearing-phantom-lakes-on-saturns-largest-moon/ar-BBVZ7JL?OCID=ansmsnnews11

Copyright April 17, 2019 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved