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Mysterious "Magic Island" on Titan appears and disappears
Scientists do not yet know what eto
At the northern seas of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is an island that has for some time surprised scientists. Once he appeared, then suddenly she disappeared, and bang - and changed again.
This thing - whatever it was - obviously evolving. NASA spacecraft "Cassini" follows the development of the mysterious formation, which is a large sea of hydrocarbon Titan. The island covers an area of approximately 260 km2 in the five-sea Ligeia, one of the largest seas of Titan. To date, the unit "Cassini" double discovering the island with radar, but both times he looked different.
For the first time the island was seen "Cassini" in July 2013.. Previous observations have not shown anything like the sea. Strange, but it was gone in the next few months, because of what some members of the team suggest that this may be a temporary phenomenon, for example, seasonal. In fact, the moon moves from spring to summer (summer on Titan will begin in 2017 year), which increases the level of solar activity in the region.
During his flight on Aug. 21, 2014-year Cassini spotted the island again, and he clearly has changed since then, has been seen before. So what is it? This phenomenon can have several causes: surface waves, rising bubbles, floating rock, the rock just below the surface or something more exotic.
"Science loves puzzles, and thanks to this phenomenon, we have an excellent example of the changes taking place on Titan - says a member of the team," Cassini "Stephen Wall NASA in a statement. - We hope that we will continue to monitor the changes and get an idea of what is happening in this alien sea ».
via factroom.ru
At the northern seas of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is an island that has for some time surprised scientists. Once he appeared, then suddenly she disappeared, and bang - and changed again.
This thing - whatever it was - obviously evolving. NASA spacecraft "Cassini" follows the development of the mysterious formation, which is a large sea of hydrocarbon Titan. The island covers an area of approximately 260 km2 in the five-sea Ligeia, one of the largest seas of Titan. To date, the unit "Cassini" double discovering the island with radar, but both times he looked different.
For the first time the island was seen "Cassini" in July 2013.. Previous observations have not shown anything like the sea. Strange, but it was gone in the next few months, because of what some members of the team suggest that this may be a temporary phenomenon, for example, seasonal. In fact, the moon moves from spring to summer (summer on Titan will begin in 2017 year), which increases the level of solar activity in the region.
During his flight on Aug. 21, 2014-year Cassini spotted the island again, and he clearly has changed since then, has been seen before. So what is it? This phenomenon can have several causes: surface waves, rising bubbles, floating rock, the rock just below the surface or something more exotic.
"Science loves puzzles, and thanks to this phenomenon, we have an excellent example of the changes taking place on Titan - says a member of the team," Cassini "Stephen Wall NASA in a statement. - We hope that we will continue to monitor the changes and get an idea of what is happening in this alien sea ».
via factroom.ru
