PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The latest images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft could be showing liquid hydrocarbon on Saturn's moon Titan, scientists said Friday.
Radar images of a strip of the moon, covering just 1 percent of its surface, show dark patches that could be liquid methane or ethane. The images also show streaky areas on the surface that could be caused by winds.
The scientists also said although the images need further analysis, they suggest that Titan is geologically alive.
"On early Earth there was organic material and something happened to those molecules that gave rise to life," said Jonathan Lunine, Cassini imaging scientist. "We had to find a place elsewhere in the system where that process is being replicated ... "it seems to be happening on Titan."
Scientists also are puzzling about the composition of a cloud formation near Titan's south pole. They had expected it to be made of methane, but data from Cassini suggests the molecules making up the cloud are too big to be methane.
Cassini's flyby is one of 45 planned for its four-year tour of Saturn.
