Scientists have discovered a large hot area on the surface of Titian, a moon of Saturn.
The spot, approximately the size and shape of West Virginia, is just southeast of the bright region called Xanadu and is visible to multiple instruments on the Cassini spacecraft.
The 483-kilometer-wide (300-mile) region may be a “hot” spot — an area possibly warmed by a recent asteroid impact or by a mixture of water ice and ammonia from a warm interior, oozing out of an ice volcano onto colder surrounding terrain. Other possibilities for the unusual bright spot include landscape features holding clouds in place or unusual materials on the surface.
Could it be a strange new form of geological action? Could this be the proof that there may be life on this distant moon? How soon will the crack pot fringe loonies jump on this one? Only time will tell, and when it does I’ll be there…
Odd Spot on Titan Baffles Scientists