JPL/University of Arizona/University of Idaho/ NASA
Moon Titã, from Saturn, obtained by the cassini probe of NASA
New synthetic opening images give us more information about Titan’s deltas, but open new doors and interrogations.
Liquid methane rivers and seas, the largest moon of Saturn. From this the scientists already knew, information revealed by NASA’s Cassini probe. It is by the way the only planetary body of the solar system beyond the earth where there is liquid of any kind to run to the surface.
Which is strange, now realize the authors of a published last month in Journal of Geophysical Researchis that Titan has no fluvial deltaswhich is intriguing astronomers. The delta is formed when, for example, the mouth of a river fuses with the sea.
“We consider it natural that if there are rivers and sediments, there are deltas,” writes study leader Sam Birch, assistant professor at the Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Department at Brown University, in one. “But Titan is strange. It’s a playground to study processes we thought to understand. ”
Researchers expected to find Deltas in Titan, because these geographical formations have many sediments. The study of these sediments can count several information about the climate and tectonic history of this moon, and even open doors to the understanding of a possible extraterrestrial life, Explain to.
Birch’s team has created a computational model that simulates what Cassini’s SAR is looking at Earth. But the model replaced water from Earth’s rivers and oceans with the liquid methane of Titan.
“Basically, we created Synthetic Opening Pictures (SAR) From the land that assume the properties of Titan liquid instead of the earth, ”said Birch.” As soon as we see sar images of a landscape we know very well, we can go back to Titan and understand a little better what we are seeing. “
According to the researchers, these images “resolved great deltas And many other major coastal landscapes, ”explain the investigators.
But the discovery also brought new questions over the table. Scientists have found cavities of unknown origin and deep channels at the bottom of Titan’s seas and rivers.
“That really It’s not what we expected“, Concludes the investigator.“ But Titan does it with us often. I think this is what makes you such an interesting place to study. ”
