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Sponge-Like Snow Could Explain Titan's Magic Islands

On Saturn's moon Titan, ice should sink rather than float on its lakes. So how can astronomers explain the existence of mysterious floating islands?

The Physics arXiv Blog iconThe Physics arXiv Blog
By The Physics arXiv Blog
Jan 15, 2024 3:30 PMJan 15, 2024 3:29 PM
lake-on-titan
(Credit:Jurik Peter/Shutterstock)

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One of the great mysteries of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is the temporary smoothness of its hydrocarbon lakes in places, a state that sometimes last for days or weeks. Planetary geologists have come up with two potential explanations for this smoothness.

The first is a lack of waves. Perhaps there just isn’t enough wind on Titan to drive waves across the entire surface of its lakes. And where there are no waves, the lakes are almost flat, varying in height by no more than a few millimeters, which is why these regions appear so bright in radar images.

This seems unlikely because the weather on Titan appears to be windier than this.

Spongy Snow

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