Titanic Methane Seas

Even after a decade of interloping among the Saturnian system, the Cassini spacecraft is still doing great science.  It helps that there are lots of places to visit, since Saturn has 62 moons and the largest ring system of the gas giants.  Arguably the best science has come from Saturn’s largest moon Titan, second largest moon in the solar system (behind Ganymede) and the only moon known to have an atmosphere. Since Cassini has been in orbit around Saturn and it’s system of moons, it’s been revealed that over 1.6 million square kilometers of Titan’s surface are covered in liquid...

Rosetta Finds Comet Sinkholes Similar to Earth

When the Rosetta spacecraft entered orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, first images captured deep circular depressions among the other surface features.  Now that the orbiter has taken significant observations of the comet’s surface, the science team has concluded that these depressions are actually sinkholes that form by the same processes that form sinkholes 500 Million kilometers away here on Earth. Sinkholes on Earth form when subsurface material is eroded away.  Though not initially visible on the surface, the material falls deep underground leaving a circular cavern.  Once enough material has eroded away, the top of the cavern collapses, leaving a large...