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Canyons, rivulets: scientists give first impression of Titan photos
Darmstadt, Germany (AFP) Jan 16, 2005 Drainage channels, canyons, rivulets winding their way to a vast ocean of methane: these were some of the initial impressions of scientists to the first photos taken of Saturn's moon Titan which could provide clues to the origins of Earth. The pictures were taken Friday after the European Space Agency'sHuygens probe successfully parachuted down to the surface of Saturn's largest moon, beaming back more than 300 photographs of Titan's misty surface and sound recordings from across the solar system. "It is impossible to resist speculation that these are some kind of drainage channels, canyons also maybe a shoreline," said Marty Tomasko, a University of Arizona specialist who heads the project's imaging team, showing a picture taken 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the surface. Titan is the only moon in the solar system to have clouds and a thick, planet-like atmosphere. Even though it may have clues as to the chemical processes that unfolded on the infant Earth, Titan is quite unlikely to have life. With a surface temperature of -180 Celsius (-292 Fahrenheit) and barely illuminated by the distant Sun, it has none of the ingredients -- warmth, light and liquid water -- deemed essential for organisms. If there is an ocean on Titan, it is likely to be of frozen methane, scientists believe. Some Huygens pictures taken by the tiny robot laboratory appeared to show boulders dotted across a flat landscape, others showed what looked like channels cutting through the moon's surface. Showing a shot of boulder-like formations taken close up, Tomasko said that the objects "could be ice water blocks", measuring no more than 15 centimetres (six inches) in diameter. However he warned that it would take years of analysis before the pictures finally give up their secrets. "Don't expect any geological explanation at this point," he said. The Huygens probe separated from its US-built mother ship Cassini to land on Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, after a 2.1 billion (1.3 billion mile) trek across the solar system. The probe headed to Titan's surface carrying half a dozen instruments within a clam-like shell to film and measure the moon's weather system and methane-rich atmosphere during a two-and-a-half-hour descent. Its sensors were designed to continue working for just three minutes after it landed on the bone-freezing Titan surface. But delighted scientists said the instruments probably continued to function for at least half an hour after touchdown, possibly providing vital clues as to whether Titan is covered by rock, methane ice or an ocean of chemicals. The successful Huygens probe landing on Titan is the high point of a 3.2-billion-dollar (2.5-billion-euro), 20-year cooperative venture between Europe and the United States. "We already have a clearer picture of Titan today," said Jean-Pierre Lebreton, director of the Huygens mission at the ESA, who said the data gathered had fulfilled the project's most ambitious objectives. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Explore The Ring World of Saturn and her moons Jupiter and its Moons The million outer planets of a star called Sol News Flash at Mercury
Cassini Images Halo Around Titanic Moon Off Saturn
Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 27, 2005With its thick, distended atmosphere, Titan's orange globe shines softly, encircled by a thin halo of purple light-scattering haze. |
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