Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

NASA's Cassini Discovers Hydrocarbon Dunes On Titan (examiner.com)

Posted by samzenpus on from the different-dunes dept.

MarkWhittington writes: NASA made an announcement that Titan, a moon of Saturn and the largest moon in the solar system, has hydrocarbon dunes. The discovery has highlighted the entirely alien nature of Titan, which has seas, lakes and rains of liquid methane and ethane and a surface comprised on water ice. The fact that it has dunes made of frozen hydrocarbon that acts like sand, blown by the wind on Earth is yet another piece of data that has scientists interested in studying Titan further.

46 of 77 comments (clear)

  1. Some strong winds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The fact that it has dunes made of frozen hydrocarbon that acts like sand, blown by the wind on Earth

    Another mystery of the cosmos.

    1. Re:Some strong winds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You DON'T want to be caught in my methane WINDS!

    2. Re:Some strong winds by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 2

      Methane winds? Somebody is full of beans!

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    3. Re:Some strong winds by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

      I wonder if Rowan Atkinson's character got its name because he farts a lot.

      Fight for your bitcoins!

    4. Re:Some strong winds by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      We don't mind your methanes, but those sulfides are killer dude

    5. Re:Some strong winds by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      Why do you think it is in the least bit mysterious?

      Titan has a surface atmospheric pressure of 1 and a half times that of Earth. If the Earth's atmosphere can move solid grains around, then it is no surprise that titan's atmosphere can.

      Actually, it is more surprising that the atmosphere of Mars (1/100the earth;s surface pressure) can produce dunes.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  2. Sirens by X10 · · Score: 1

    Those dunes, that's where the Sirens live.

    --
    no, I don't have a sig
    1. Re:Sirens by Muad'Dave · · Score: 2

      Muad'Dave

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
  3. FYI: Titan is second largest in Solar System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    > the largest moon in the solar system

    Jupiter's Ganymede has a diameter of 5268 km and Titan has a diameter of 5151 km. Titan is the second largest moon in the Solar System.

    1. Re:FYI: Titan is second largest in Solar System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The Examiner does not concern itself with mere facts.

      A quote from a nearby article:

      All of which is not lost on any individual with access to the Internet, who can easily Google for facts, instead of relying on notoriously fickle computer models.

    2. Re:FYI: Titan is second largest in Solar System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you count Titan's atmosphere it is the largest moon in the solar system.
       
      We count Jupiter's and Saturn's atmospheres when we calculate their size, why not Titan?

    3. Re: FYI: Titan is second largest in Solar System by WindBourne · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Which is interesting that they are bigger than mercury. So mercury is planet only because of orbiting the sun, while these moons are not.

      --
      I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    4. Re:FYI: Titan is second largest in Solar System by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Atmospheres aren't a good thing to measure because they have no sharp limit -- they just become thinner and thinner. Jupiter's radius would be about 5000 km larger if we counted its full atmosphere. We systematically calculate size starting from the sharpest drop in density of the body, whether this falls within the atmosphere or at its base.

    5. Re: FYI: Titan is second largest in Solar System by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

      Fun fact : Ganymede and Titan also orbit the sun ;)

  4. Re:Oil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Free Titan? I would call it "Attack on Titan".

  5. Tar sands in Titan? by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 3, Funny

    So we have to extend the Keystone XL pipeline all the way to Titan, now.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Tar sands in Titan? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I don;'t no teh sciense so I'll make da politikal jokezz!! HAR HGAR HARAR!!
       
      Another science article that has conversations totally lacking science on Slashdork. Imagine that.

    2. Re:Tar sands in Titan? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      The people who took over slashdot in the last 5 years don't know science. And it's spelled with an exclamation mark. I knew more science in grade school than most posts I see regularly here now.

  6. Lack of democracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Also Cassini have detected that Titan has a strong lack of democracy.

  7. Re:Oil? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Unilateral" means "one sided". I think you'll find the biggest problem in Syria is that there are waaaay more sides than that.

  8. In completely unrelated news... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

    In completely unrelated news congress has voted to increase NASA's budget today.
    In other news NASA has announced joint ventures with private Oil and Gas companies. A source close to the deal had this to say about why they joined forces, "No reason, they just seemed like nice guys."

    1. Re:In completely unrelated news... by quenda · · Score: 1

      Hydrocarbons, you say?
      In other unrelated news, the NSA satellite reports evidence of WMDs on Titan.

    2. Re:In completely unrelated news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Hate on it all you want but if you want space exploration beyond a few probes and LEO dickering then you're going to have to accept private interests looking to make a profit somewhere.
       
      The Star Trek fantasies you neckbeards prattle on about are just that, fantasies.

  9. WTF? by edittard · · Score: 1

    "comprised on"? DonÂt think so.

    --
    At the bottom of the /. main page it says 'Yesterday's News'. Well they got that right.
  10. Interesting by WindBourne · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For the shear amount of hydrocarbons that we find on other planets, moons, etc, it makes me wonder about our oil. I would not be surprised to find out that some of this oil comes from before life.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
    1. Re:Interesting by beastofburdon · · Score: 1

      It most likely did. Well, at least before life on this planet. Not necessarily before life in general.

  11. Oxidizer by coolmoose25 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    On Earth, we refer to hydrocarbons as fuel, and we use the oxygen in our atmosphere to burn them. We call the air an "Oxidizer"

    On Titan, if there were any "natives", would they call oxygen "fuel" and their hydrocarbons "Hydrocarbonizers"?

    --
    Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
    1. Re:Oxidizer by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      They speak Titanese, which when written looks like Perl 6

  12. They have hydrocarbons? by Pascoea · · Score: 5, Funny

    They have hydrocarbons? Looks like they need some Freedom!

  13. Re:You Tar Sands, Me Thane by Teresita · · Score: 1

    What's next, worms and spice?

    The oil must flow.

  14. Hydrocarbons = Progress! by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

    This means I'll be able to keep driving my '72 Coupe DeVille.

    http://vpstestbringatrailercom...

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  15. That implies... by LoyalOpposition · · Score: 1

    Titan, a moon of Saturn and the largest moon in the solar system, has hydrocarbon dunes.

    So, Titan had dinosaurs in the ancient past?

    ~Loyal

    --
    I aim to misbehave.
    1. Re:That implies... by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      More like "hydrocarbons and organic compounds are fairly common in the universe".

      You can't make up a 288 billion mile alcohol cloud and not have people laugh at you. Find it for real, and everyone stands around going "wow, really?".

      The universe has all sorts of wacky stuff in it. This probably isn't even much of a stretch.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:That implies... by mjm1231 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The number of posters who seem to think that fossil fuels are the only type of hydrocarbon makes me sad. Sure, some of them are making jokes, but there are more than a handful who appear to be actually serious in this belief.

      Believing that dinosaurs had to exist before hydrocarbons requires the most bizarre self-contradictory theory of Creationism ever conceived.

      --
      Ideology: A tool used primarily to avoid the bother of thinking.
    3. Re:That implies... by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      Yeah there is also hydroxyl groups bound to hydrocarbons.

      Ladies and gentlemen, I present for your consideration and pondering, the booze nebula: http://researchnews.osu.edu/ar...

  16. Can we stop calling them fossil fuels now? by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That is all.

    1. Re:Can we stop calling them fossil fuels now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Hydrocarbons are only called fossil fuels if they're fossil fuels, just like water is called "spring water" if it's spring water. Nobody's calling all hydrocarbons "fossil fuels".

    2. Re:Can we stop calling them fossil fuels now? by mjm1231 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There are lots of hydrocarbons which aren't fuels at all, fossil or otherwise. (Or at least would make poorer fuels than non-hydrocarbons.)

      --
      Ideology: A tool used primarily to avoid the bother of thinking.
  17. Re:Oil? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

    That's one more reason not to go there!

    Fight for your bitcoins!

  18. Re:[Titan sands] ... blown by the wind on Earth by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

    I can't wait until 2620 so people stop making that stupid joke once and for all.

    Fight for your bitcoins!

  19. Re:Dinosaurs in SPACE!? by U2xhc2hkb3QgU3Vja3M · · Score: 1

    ALIENS TOOK THEM THERE!!!!

    They sure did.

    Fight for your bitcoins!

  20. Re:Oil? by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

    Don't forget the pipeline that has to be built. Fortunately, we won't have those pesky property rights to worry about...

  21. Re:Fart for you ByteCoins? by KGIII · · Score: 1

    The dude's a spammer. I'd assume they're a poor spammer. They want you to click the link (it looks like a referrer URL) and they'll then get a portion of your work, outcome, or whatever or they'll get some sort of bonus if you join. I've not clicked the link to check. If you want to, just copy the URL, trim out the referrer part, and see the site for yourself. I've never been there so practice safe hex.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  22. Re:Oil? by plopez · · Score: 1

    Frequent Rumble?

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  23. Re:[Titan sands] ... blown by the wind on Earth by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    I can't wait until 2620 so people stop making that stupid joke once and for all.

    Fight for your bitcoins!

    I can't wait until people stop making jokes at all. After all, what purpose do they serve? They merely distract the weak-minded from the serious business of leveraging synergies for maximisation of disruptive innovations in the digital marketplace.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  24. Grammar Nazi by phil.swansborough · · Score: 1

    "The fact that it has dunes made of frozen hydrocarbon that acts like sand, blown by the wind on Earth is yet another piece of data that has scientists interested in studying Titan further." Hate to be a grammar Nazi but that is a terrible use of a comma. You've effectively made that sentence mean that the hydrocarbons act like sand and that they are blown by the winds on Earth.