Israel space agency, Space agency

Volcano-like features seen in polar regions of Saturn's moon Titan by NASA's Cassini spacecraft could be evidence of explosive eruptions that may continue today, according to a new paper by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Charles A. Wood and coauthor J Radebaugh of Brigham Young University.Morphological features such as nested collapses, elevated ramparts, halos, and islands indicate that some of the abundant small depressions in the north polar region of Titan are volcc collapse craters, according to "Morphologic Evidence for Volcc Craters near Titan's North Polar Region" that appears in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. A few similar depressions occur near the south pole of Titan."The close association of the proposed volcc craters with polar lakes is consistent with a volcc origin through explosive eruptions followed by collapse, as either maars or calderas," Wood said. "The apparent freshness of some craters may mean that volcsm has been relatively recently active on Titan or even continues today."The Cassini mission revealed many landforms on Saturn's moon Titan that are like those found on Earth. Sand dunes, river valleys and lakes are all a result of actions by the atmosphere on the surface, driven by solar heating."We demonstrate that there is also evidence for internal heat, mfest at the surface as cryovolcanoes, made from melting the water ice crust into liquid water that erupts onto Titan's surface," Wood said. "These features are roughly round, with raised rims, and they sometimes overlap each other. They are consistent with the shapes of other volcc landforms on Earth and Mars formed by the explosion, excavation and collapse."That these features are at the polar regions, near the lakes of methane, may indicate methane, nitrogen or some other volatile may power them. The features appear relatively fresh, meng they could still be forming today," Wood said.Wood's research was funded by a grant to PSI from NASA's Cassini mission.( With inputs from ANI )

Israel Space AgencyFOLLOW

Israel space agency, Latest News

NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will travel with the Perseverance rover through 314 million miles (505 million kilometres) of interplanetary space to get to Mars. ...

Earth's Moon has a 'near side' that is perpetually Earth-facing and a 'far side', which always faces away from Earth. The composition of the Moon's near side is oddly different from its far side, and scientists think they finally understand why. ...

Earth's Moon has a 'near side' that is perpetually Earth-facing and a 'far side', which always faces away from Earth. The composition of the Moon's near side is oddly different from its far side, and scientists think they finally understand why. ...

Astronomers have reported the first detection of X-rays from the earliest phase of the evolution of a star like our Sun. This discovery, made using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, may help answer some questions about the Sun and the solar system as ...

Astronomers discovered a remarkable neutron star known as Swift J1818.0-1607, which according to the new study is only about 240 years old -- a veritable newborn by cosmic standards. ...

NASA has said its Manager of the International Space Station Programme, Kirk Shireman, is retiring on June 26 to ... ...

Just as lighthouses have helped sailors navigate safely into harbor for centuries, future space travellers may receive similar guidance ... ...

Volcano-like features seen in polar regions of Saturn's moon Titan by NASA's Cassini spacecraft could be evidence of explosive eruptions that may continue today, according to a new paper by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Charles A. Wood ...