The Cassini probe, which is orbiting Saturn, has mapped part of the surface of the planet’s largest moon. Like Venus, Titan is covered by a hazy atmosphere, which makes viewing the surface using visible light impossible. The Cassini probe includes a radar mapping tool, which has made it possible to construct a map of part of Titan’s surface. Last week, NASA announced the existence of a sea on the surface of Titan that is larger than the Earth’s Lake Superior. Being that the surface of Titan has a temperature of about −179 °C (or −290 °F), the seas on Titan are likely composed of either liquid methane and/or liquid ethane; all water on Titan is frozen and part of the planet’s crust.

Titan’s surface is obscured by its hazy atmosphere.

The newly-discovered sea on Titan is larger than Lake Superior. Image from NASA.

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