Rivers of Methane
The Huygens lander detached from NASA’s Cassini satellite and plummeted toward the surface of Titan in 2005. Along the way, it captured spectacular details of the water and landscape.
This image shows a high ridge with channels bringing liquid hydrocarbons into a river. One thing that researchers hope to better understand is how such flows erode the crust of Titan. The surface is composed of rocks and water ice frozen hard as rock, and scientists do not yet know the details of how liquid hydrocarbon eats away into such material.
Image: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona