Rivers of methane produced surprisingly little erosion on Titan

For many years, Titan's thick, methane- and nitrogen-rich atmosphere kept astronomers from seeing what lies beneath. Saturn's largest moon appeared through telescopes as a hazy orange orb, in contrast to other heavily cratered moons in the solar system.

The atmosphere of Titan is full of a thick haze, so it's impossible to take clear pictures of the surface in the optical wavelengths.

Tropical lakes on Titan

The existence of oceans or lakes of liquid methane on Saturn's moon Titan was predicted more than 20 years ago. But with a dense haze preventing a closer look it has not been possible to confirm their presence. Until the Cassini flyby of July 22, 2006, that is. Radar imaging data from the flyby, published in the journal Nature, provide convincing evidence for large bodies of liquid. Intensity in this colorized image is proportional to how much radar brightness is returned, or more specifically, the logarithm of the radar backscatter cross-section. The colors are not a representation of what the human eye would see. The lakes, darker than the surrounding terrain, are emphasized here by tinting regions of low backscatter in blue. Radar-brighter regions are shown in tan. Smallest details in this image are about 500 meters (1,640 feet) across. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS