Mystery of the Giant Dunes on Titan

[bison]

There are large dunes on Saturn's moon Titan, which appear much like sand dunes on Earth. These are made of hydrocarbons, possibly covering water ice grains. Their wind-blown forms do not conform to the direction of the prevailing winds. What could be driving their formation is suggested in the very good article, linked below.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/12/09/giant-dunes-on-saturn-moon-titan-sculpted-by-rogue-winds/

[Atuke]

Wonder what is buried under those dunes? Pyramids? The Sphinx? A hidden oracle? Time to send probes and rovers

[Junior Chubb]

Wonder what is buried under those dunes? Pyramids? The Sphinx? A hidden oracle? Time to send probes and rovers

Ancient Aliens no doubt...

[Peter B]

From the article linked in the OP:

The evolution of Titan's landscape is of interest to scientists partly because of the similarities between the satellite and Earth. Titan is the only moon in the solar system with an atmosphere, and the only other body besides Earth with liquid on its surface. But, Titan's lakes and oceans are made of methane and ethanol, not water.

The researchers at the SETI Institute said in the statement that the study of how Titan's dunes form could have applications for understanding similar processes on Earth.

"We see today sediment being wafted over the Sahara desert, across the Atlantic to South America. This wind-blown material accounts for much of the fertility of the Amazon Basin," Marshall said. "So understanding this process is essential."

Once again an example of how exploring space has practical applications back here on Earth.

Interesting article, thanks Bison.

[qxcontinuum]

They need to stop guessing a send a probe on Titan. It is more likely to find life there than on Mars. I mean Titan is currently the only celestial body known to have a complex atmosphere and primitive alike Earth life conditions.

[Twin]

Life? Probably not.. Titan is as cold as Hell is hot.

[CRYSiiSx2]

Life as we k ow it? Probably not. But there is a lot we don't know.

[Peter B]

They need to stop guessing a send a probe on Titan. It is more likely to find life there than on Mars. I mean Titan is currently the only celestial body known to have a complex atmosphere and primitive alike Earth life conditions.

And Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus both almost certainly have massive under-ice oceans of liquid water laced with complex organic molecules. I agree that Titan's a better candidate for life now than Mars is, but I'd suggest that Europa and Enceladus are even better candidates.