Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is one of the solar system’s most remarkable satellites, and the appearance on it of a new landmass has made it more intriguing still.
Like Earth, it has oceans and seas, but at -290 degrees F (-179C), they’re filled with liquid methane and ethane, not water. Their existence was long suspected but wasn’t proved until NASA’s Cassini probe began orbiting Saturn in 2004.
During its flybys of Titan, Cassini conducted radar scans of Ligeia Mare, the moon’s northern sea. The images revealed what looked like an island that was present in 2013 and not at other times.
What it means. The Internet labeled the discovery a magic island, but it’s likely the result of turbulence in the sea as Titan’s summer approaches, with changing levels revealing and swamping the island.
