Saturn's Moon Titan May Have Subsurface Ocean Of Hydrocarbons

A radar image of some of the lakes of hydrocarbons spread across one of the poles of Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons. Colors have been altered to accentuate the topographic features. (Credit: Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL and the Cassini Project Office)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2009) — Saturn's largest moon, Titan, may have a subterranean ocean of hydrocarbons and some topsy-turvy topography in which the summits of its mountains lie lower than its average surface elevation, according to new research.

Titan is also more squashed in its overall shape—like a rubber ball pressed down by a foot—than researchers had expected, said Howard Zebker, a Stanford geophysicist and electrical engineer involved in the work. The new findings may help explain the presence of large lakes of hydrocarbons at both of Titan's poles, which have been puzzling researchers since being discovered in 2007.

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