Craters Quickly Hidden On Titan

MightyMartian writes "NASA scientists say Cassini has discovered that far fewer craters are visible on Titan than on the other moons of Saturn. The craters they have discovered are far shallower than other moons' craters and appear to be filling with hydrocarbon sand. On top of being another reason Titan's active geology is very cool, it adds to the mystery of where all the methane on Titan is coming from. 'The rain that falls from Titan's skies is not water, but contains liquid methane and ethane, compounds that are gases at Earth's temperatures. ... The source of Titan's methane remains a mystery because methane in the atmosphere is broken down over relatively short time scales by sunlight. Fragments of methane molecules then recombine into more complex hydrocarbons in the upper atmosphere, forming a thick, orange smog that hides the surface from view. Some of the larger particles eventually rain out onto the surface, where they appear to get bound together to form the sand.'"

Re:There could be gazillions of nano-cows on Titan

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually the Bhagavad Gita allows an exception to killing in the face of starvation. A human being can sustain themselves without killing. Because life is sacred (crazy thought), an enlightened person should choose not to kill over killing. Because cows make milk and many dishes can be made from milk without killing, and mother's produce milk, cows are considered sacred. However, if you are faced with starvation, self-preservation is allowed. As religion goes, it's not quite as crazy as a god that depends on us killing Him so He can forgive us for our sins and save us from Himself.

Re:Titan's active geology is very cool

[Anonymous Coward]

On Mars, it is expected that methane would be destroyed pretty quickly due to photochemistry, and in order for th current, low concentrations to maintain a steady state, there has to be a source somewhere. Titan would be a difference case, as it receives less sun light, may have started with a much larger source of methane. It wouldn't take as large of an ongoing source of methane to result in the levels we see on Titan, as opposed on Mars.