Evidence of hydrocarbon lakes on Titan moon detected

Scientists say the first common evidence has been found about giant hydrocarbon lakes on Titan's surface, which is believed to have a fairly Earth-like atmosphere.

Images of Titan moon from Cassini train (Photo: NaSa)

These lakes are located near the cold north pole of Titan moon, discovered by the international probe Cassini 944 km from the moon over the weekend.

Researchers counted more than 10 lakes ranging in size from 9 to 99 km, some showing dark spots on radar images, connected by grooves, others with sub-branches pouring into them.

Many lakes have been dry, but some lakes contain liquids that are almost a mixture of methane and ethane.'It's a cooling mix,' said the scientist of the Cassini and Jonathan Lunine mission at Arizona University (USA).

Titan is Saturn's moon, about the size of a planet and one of the two moons in the Solar System, believed to have an atmosphere quite similar to the original Earth. Now scientists are trying to answer the origin of the dim atmosphere rich in nitrogen and methane in this moon.

T.VY