# Flowing river found on Titan **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896 "2012-12-13T03:13:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/1 "2012-12-13T03:13:34Z")
[Link.](http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/cassini20121212.html) “Liquid hydrocarbons” not water but still very interesting. [QUOTE=NASA] Scientists with NASA’s Cassini mission have spotted what appears to be a miniature, extraterrestrial likeness of Earth’s Nile River: a river valley on Saturn’s moon Titan that stretches more than 200 miles (400 kilometers) from its “headwaters” to a large sea. It is the first time images have revealed a river system this vast and in such high resolution anywhere other than Earth. Scientists deduce that the river, which is in Titan’s north polar region, is filled with liquid hydrocarbons because it appears dark along its entire length in the high-resolution radar image, indicating a smooth surface. \ “Titan is the only place we’ve found besides Earth that has a liquid in continuous movement on its surface,” said Steve Wall, the radar deputy team lead, based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “This picture gives us a snapshot of a world in motion. Rain falls, and rivers move that rain to lakes and seas, where evaporation starts the cycle all over again. On Earth, the liquid is water; on Titan, it’s methane; but on both it affects most everything that happens.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/2 "2012-12-13T03:18:29Z")
That’s really, really interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/3 "2012-12-13T03:19:30Z")
On Earth, no life can exist without water. On Titan, methane? Methane monsters? Methane based life forms. Cool. Their cows fart water vapor. Because it’s obviously a direct opposite correlation. And it’s late and I’m tired. sniggle…my brain made up a Far Side comic with Titan-cows farting water vapor, and it causing global warming on this distant moon… ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/4 "2012-12-13T03:22:57Z")
> [@Uber\_the\_Goober](#): > > On Earth, no life can exist without water. > > On Titan, methane? Methane monsters? Methane based life forms. Cool. Their cows fart water vapor. > > Because it’s obviously a direct opposite correlation. And it’s late and I’m tired. sniggle…my brain made up a Far Side comic with Titan-cows farting water vapor, and it causing global warming on this distant moon… You forgot Thunderdome. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/5 "2012-12-13T03:23:03Z")
The Methological Cycle? Or something like that… ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/6 "2012-12-13T03:41:06Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > You forgot Thunderdome. But can’t we just get…Beyond Thunderdome? ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/7 "2012-12-13T04:39:46Z")
Two jokes enter. One joke leaves. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/8 "2012-12-13T18:32:09Z")
I think I can see Winston Rumfoord’s mansion in that pic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Doom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Dr\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/9 "2012-12-13T18:33:15Z")
Flowing rivers are far more interesting than stagnant ones. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/10 "2012-12-13T18:35:05Z")
River Tam? River Song? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/11 "2012-12-14T02:18:33Z")
> [@Dr\_Doom](#): > > Flowing rivers are far more interesting than stagnant ones. Well yes, which is part of what makes Titan itself interesting. Titan seems far more dynamic and interesting than most of the “big dead ball of ice & rock” moons out there. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flowing-river-found-on-titan/643896/12 "2012-12-14T02:29:00Z")
Wow, an actual “Moon River.” It should be named Mancini.