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eppur_se_muova

(36,289 posts)
Fri Mar 23, 2012, 08:08 AM Mar 2012

Thousand-year wait for Titan's methane rain (BBC)

By Paul Rincon
Science editor, BBC News website, The Woodlands, Texas

Places on Saturn's moon Titan see rainfall about once every 1,000 years on average, a new analysis concludes.

Earth and Titan are the only worlds in the Solar System where liquid rains on a solid surface - though on Titan, the rain is methane rather than water.

The calculation is based on findings from the Cassini probe of rainstorms that occurred in 2004 and 2010.

Dr Ralph Lorenz presented details of his work at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in Texas.

Titan is a fascinating, "same but different" analogue of the Earth. Wind and rain sculpt the surface, producing river channels, lakes, dunes and shorelines.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17454005

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Thousand-year wait for Titan's methane rain (BBC) (Original Post) eppur_se_muova Mar 2012 OP
Sadly, Margot was locked in the closet when it happened. Bicoastal Mar 2012 #1
Ha! eppur_se_muova Mar 2012 #3
"Have you ever seen the rain, comin' down on a sunny day?" lastlib Mar 2012 #2
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