The Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn has spotted the largest peak ever recorded on the surface of the largest moon in that system, Titan. The mountain towers 10,948 feet above the surface of the giant moon, making it slightly smaller than Oregon's Mount Hood.
Titan is noted as possessing the densest atmosphere of any satellite in the solar system, rich in nitrogen, like that of the Earth. However, the air of Titan is a thick haze, preventing astronomers from peeking through to the surface using optical telescopes or satellite instruments. Radar was used to penetrate the thick clouds, revealing the landscape of the giant moon.
Investigation of the surface reveals mountains are most common near the equator of Titan, including a region where the Huygens lander touched down in 2005. The tallest peaks on the satellite were all found to be roughly 10,000 feet in height, NASA officials report.
Cassini has spent roughly 12 years studying the ringed planet, along with its retinue of dozens of satellites. Investigation of the surface of Titan could assist astronomers looking to deduce the history of geology on the massive satellite.
"As explorers, we're motivated to find the highest or deepest places, partly because it's exciting. But Titan's extremes also tell us important things about forces affecting its evolution," said Jani Radebaugh of Brigham Young University and a member of the Cassini radar team.
Researchers believe that this newly-recognized peak may be the tallest mountain astronomers are likely to find on the surface of Saturn's largest moon.
Titan may harbor vast oceans hidden beneath its crust, many astronomers speculate. The peaks were discovered during a study searching for active zones on the surface of the satellite, where geological forces may have shaped the surface of the moon.
Much like the Earth, mountains appear to form on Titan in areas where regions of land press up against one another, raising the terrain. Also like our home planet, such features may be eroded by the atmosphere and precipitation, researchers deduced.
The icy surface of Titan led astronomers to believe that peaks on the giant satellite would not reach nearly as far above the surface as mountains on Earth. The results of the study were surprising to astronomers analyzing the data.
