Saturn's biggest moon just attracted people. On Titans, the methane cloud emits a cold, oily rain that is completely different from the water-based downpour we see on Earth. Scientists have collected evidence of cloud convection in the northern hemisphere of Titan, observing the moon's methane clouds shifted over its creepy lake over time.
By combining the Weber Space Telescope data with the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, a group of scientists observed that Titan's clouds rose to higher altitudes over time. This new discovery marks the first time that cloud convection occurs in the northern hemisphere of the Moon, where most of the Titan Lake and the oceans of liquid methane are located. The findings were detailed in a study published this week in the Journal nature.
“This allows us to better understand the climate cycles of Titans, how methane clouds produce rainfall and supplement methane evaporates from lakes,” Conor Nixon, a research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement.
The Titan is the only moon in the solar system with a rich atmosphere, but Saturn's largest moon is shrouded in a layer of pale yellow smoke. To detect different depths in the Titan atmosphere, scientists used various infrared filters on Weber and Keck to estimate the height of the cloud. The team behind the study observed Titans in November 2022 and July 2023, capturing clouds in the central and high north latitudes of the moon. Using space and ground observations, scientists observed clouds as they appeared to move to higher altitudes within a few days. However, they cannot see any precipitation directly.
According to NASA, Titans are the only other place in the solar system, known to have a liquid cycle similar to Earth, with rain pouring from clouds, flowing on its surface, filling lakes and oceans, and evaporating back to the sky. However, Titans have no water, but liquid methane and ethane.
The strange moon has high interest in astronomers because of its complex organic chemistry despite the heat of temperatures and bodies of water. Organic molecules are one of the foundations of life on Earth, and studying Titans can help scientists better understand how different life images develop in completely different planetary environments.
Recent discoveries can also help scientists understand how different worlds develop over time. “On Titans, methane is a consumption,” Nixon said. “For billions of years, it could have been pouring and foaming out of the shell and interior.
