News Release Archive: Solar System > Planetary Moon

News Release 24 of 29

November 8, 1994 12:00 AM (EST)

News Release Number: STScI-1994-55

UA Scientist & Team Discover Surface Features Cover Titan

Scientists for the first time have made images of the surface of Saturn's giant, haze-shrouded moon, Titan. They mapped light and dark features over the surface of the satellite during nearly a complete 16-day rotation. One prominent bright area they discovered is a surface feature 2,500 miles across, about the size of the continent of Australia.

Titan, which is larger than Mercury and slightly smaller than Mars, is the only body in the solar system, other than Earth, that may have oceans and rainfall on its surface. The oceans and rain are composed of ethane-methane rather than water.

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Credit: University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory; STScI