There was a time when we thought that Earth was the only planet like it. Then we created satellites and space ships to prove ourselves wrong. Today marks one of those occasions, as NASA announced that their Cassini spacecraft was able to confirm there is a lake on Saturn’s moon Titan.
The lake isn’t made of water, though, so we can’t start moving just quite yet. Instead, it’s probably comprised of ethane. Still, this is big news as it confirms a long-held theory that the many dark spots on Titan’s surface are, indeed, made of hydrocarbons and therefore liquid. The scientists that operate Cassini are understandably pretty excited about this and are hoping that it isn’t the last big find for the satellite.
Larry Soderblom, a Cassini interdisciplinary scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz said:
Detection of liquid ethane confirms a long-held idea that lakes and seas filled with methane and ethane exist on Titan … The fact we could detect the ethane spectral signatures of the lake even when it was so dimly illuminated, and at a slanted viewing path through Titan’s atmosphere, raises expectations for exciting future lake discoveries by our instrument.
As Cassini continues its travels, it’s likely to scour a few more lakes to find out if they’re all the same or if different lakes contain different elements. The journey will take years, so look forward to many more exciting discoveries.
Read more at NASA