Editor's Summary
4 January 2007
Titan's lakes revealed
The existence of oceans or lakes of liquid methane on Saturn's moon Titan was predicted more than twenty years ago. But with a dense haze preventing a closer look, it has not been possible to confirm their presence. Until the Cassini flyby of 22 July 2006 that is. Radar imaging data from the flyby, published this week, provide convincing evidence for large bodies of liquid. The cover gives a taste of what Cassini saw. Intensity in this image (colorized — though not as a representation of what the human eye would see) is proportional to the logarithm of radar backscatter cross-section. The lakes, darker than the surrounding terrain, are emphasized here by tinting regions of low backscatter blue and radar-brighter regions tan. The strip of radar imagery is about 140 km wide, and is foreshortened to simulate an oblique view of the highest latitude region, seen from a point to its west.
News and Views: Planetary science: Titan's lost seas found
When the Cassini spacecraft found no methane ocean swathing Saturn's moon Titan, it was a blow to proponents of an Earth-like world. The discovery of northern lakes on Titan gives them reason for cheer.
Christophe Sotin
doi:10.1038/445029a
Letter: The lakes of Titan
E. R. Stofan, C. Elachi, J. I. Lunine, R. D. Lorenz, B. Stiles, K. L. Mitchell, S. Ostro, L. Soderblom, C. Wood, H. Zebker, S. Wall, M. Janssen, R. Kirk, R. Lopes, F. Paganelli, J. Radebaugh, L. Wye, Y. Anderson, M. Allison, R. Boehmer, P. Callahan, P. Encrenaz, E. Flamini, G. Francescetti, Y. Gim, G. Hamilton, S. Hensley, W. T. K. Johnson, K. Kelleher, D. Muhleman, P. Paillou, G. Picardi, F. Posa, L. Roth, R. Seu, S. Shaffer, S. Vetrella & R. West
doi:10.1038/nature05438
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