Saturn's moon Titan has a very salty ocean

Source - NASA Science News for July 2, 2014

Scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Cassini mission have found evidence of an ocean inside Saturn's largest moon, Titan, which might be as salty as the Earth's Dead Sea.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/02jul_saltyocean/

Big Picture Science for 07/22/13 - Rife with Life

Big Picture Science - Rife with Life

ENCORE “Follow the water” is the mantra of those who search for life beyond Earth. Where there’s water, there may be life. Join us on a tour of watery solar system bodies that hold promise for biology. Dig beneath the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa, and plunge into the jets of Enceladus, Saturn’s satellite.

And let’s not forget the Red Planet. Mars is rusty and dusty, but it wasn’t always a world of dry dunes. Did life once thrive here? Also, the promise of life in the exotic hydrocarbon lakes of Titan.

Science-fiction author Robert J. Sawyer joins us, and relates how these exotic outposts have prompted imaginative stories of alien life.

Guests:

• Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo award-winning science fiction author
• Cynthia Phillips – Planetary geologist at the SETI Institute
• Alexander Hayes – Planetary scientist at the University of California, Berkeley
• Rachel Mastrapa – Planetary scientist for NASA and the SETI Institute
• Robert Lillis – Space and planetary scientist at the Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley

This encore podcast was first released on February 27, 2012.

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Rife_with_Life

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.

The Mystery of the Missing Waves on Titan

Source - NASA Science News for July 22, 2013

Saturn's giant moon Titan is dotted with hydrocarbon lakes and seas that bear an uncanny resemblance to bodies of water on Earth. Strangely, though, on Titan there are no waves. In this week's story, planetary scientist Alex Hayes discusses the mysterious flatness of Titan's liquid bodies and predicts a sea-change in the near future.

The complete article can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/22jul_titan/

A companion video is posted below and can also be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pj4G101o-M



License: Standard YouTube License

Evidence Mounts for an Underground Ocean on Titan

Source: NASA Science News for June 28, 2012

Saturn's giant moon Titan appears to have an underground ocean of liquid water, according to a newly-released analysis of data from NASA's Cassini probe.

The full story can be found here: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2012/28jun_titanocean/

Big Picture Science for 02/27/12 - Rife with Life

Big Picture Science - Rife with Life

“Follow the water” is the mantra of those who search for life beyond Earth. Where there’s water, there may be life. Join us on a tour of watery solar system bodies that hold promise for biology. Dig beneath the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa, and plunge into the jets of Enceladus, Saturn’s satellite.

And let’s not forget the Red Planet. Mars is rusty and dusty, but it wasn’t always a world of dry dunes. Did life once thrive here? Also, the promise of life in the exotic hydrocarbon lakes of Titan.

Science-fiction author Robert J. Sawyer joins us, and relates how these exotic outposts have prompted imaginative stories of alien life.

Guests:

• Robert J. Sawyer – Hugo award-winning science fiction author
• Cynthia Phillips – Planetary geologist at the SETI Institute
• Alexander Hayes – Planetary scientist at the University of California, Berkeley
• Rachel Mastrapa – Planetary scientist for NASA and the SETI Institute
• Robert Lillis – Space and planetary scientist at the Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley

Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Rife_with_Life

You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Are We A Blog?, the companion blog to the radio show.

A Flash of Light from Titan

Source - NASA Science News for December 18, 2009

NASA's Cassini Spacecraft has captured the first flash of sunlight reflected off a lake on Saturn's moon Titan, confirming the presence of liquid on the part of the moon dotted with many large, lake-shaped basins.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/18dec_titanglint.htm?list894285

Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml

And here are three related articles ~ Jim

• Science Daily: Fog Discovered on Saturn's Largest Moon, Titan
• Wired News: Photo: Shining Lake Confirms Presence of Liquid on Titan
• Bild.com: German astronomers find giant lake on Saturn's moon Titan