Titan that was earlier shadowed due to winter has not come out of it.
As this winter turns into spring a space craft named Cassini has taken the images of a cloud system that is engulfing whole of the north pole of this satellite of Jupiter.
This cloud is almost the size of United States and is almost 2400 Km in diameter.
Astronomers and scientists have commented that they were sure that the cloud has to be there but they were never able to get a clear picture of this enormous cloud.
Cassini has used its Visual and Infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS) for the image.
These findings reinforce the idea that methane rains down onto the surface to form lakes and then evaporates to form clouds. This can be compared to the cloud cycle on the Earth. The only difference is that while on Earth water is the component that evaporates and rains down, on Titan the place is taken by Methane.
Thus astronomers have named the phenomenon as ‘Methane-ologic cycle’.
This cloud system on Titan comes and goes according to the seasons and a season on Titan lasts for seven Earth Years. This activity on Titan can last for twenty five Earth years and then it vanishes for four to five years and after that it comes back again and then stays for another twenty five years.
Via: physorg
