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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.

14 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 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.

  2. 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 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.
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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!
  7. They have hydrocarbons? by Pascoea · · Score: 5, Funny

    They have hydrocarbons? Looks like they need some Freedom!

  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.