Scientists are enthusiastic about establishing colonies on Mars, but is that a good idea? There have been claims and counterclaims over the possibility of living on Mars. Experts have noted that it’s a planet where you cannot breathe.
The idea to find a place more Earth-like in the solar system is quite unreal, but not entirely. Titan, which is Saturn’s largest Moon believed to be surprisingly similar to Earth.
Previous probes have concluded that Titan is the only Moon in the Solar System with a dense atmosphere.
It provides it with Earth-like weather phenomena. On Titan, methane rainfall converts into rivers, which later form lakes.
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The rain, which is basically liquid methane, falls through nitrogen winds, experts have found.
As per a new model given by planetary scientists, another feature was found to be similar such as landscape formations. The findings are reported in Geophysical Research Letters.
As per a team of planetary scientists from Stanford University in California, materials produce hydrocarbon sand dunes. Scientists have found that the dunes are different to silicate sedimentary structures.
The team also explained that it was quite intriguing to observe the formation of the sand dunes, close to the rivers, lakes and oceans filled with liquid methane.
After creating a series of computer models, which further revealed that Titan has an Earth-like seasonal cycle within the atmosphere.
Mosaics of Titan imaged by NASA’s Cassini probe. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)
The phenomenon drives the movement of grains over the Moon’s surface. Such movement led to the formation of dunes and plains after clumps of hydrocarbons come together.
The study noted that “sediments on Saturn’s Moon are thought to largely consist of mechanically weak organic grains, prone to rapid abrasion into dust.”
Significantly, scientists see Titan as one of the main candidates for future human colonisation because of the Earth-like phenomena.
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Mathieu Lapôtre, geologist and study lead author said, “Our model adds a unifying framework that allows us to understand how all of these sedimentary environments work together.”
Lapôtre, an assistant professor of geological sciences at Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences added, “If we understand how the different pieces of the puzzle fit together and their mechanics, then we can start using the landforms left behind by those sedimentary processes to say something about the climate or the geological history of Titan—and how they could impact the prospect for life on Titan.”
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