JPL Image Advisory: 2004-274

"A strikingly bright feature that is consistent with an active geology has been seen in one of Cassini's first radar images of Saturn's moon Titan. There are many possibilities for what it is but one of the leading candidates is that it may be a 'cryovolcanic' flow or 'ice volcano'.

"It may be something that flowed," said Cassini radar team member Dr. Ralph Lorenz of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "Or it could be something carved by erosion. It's too early to say.

"But it looks very much like it's something that oozed across the surface. It may be some sort of cryovolcanic flow, an analog to volcanism on Earth that is not molten rock but, at Titan's very cold temperatures, molten ice."

Just two days after the Oct. 26 flyby, Cassini scientists knew that Titan is not a crater-pocked dead world, but a much more interesting place. Titan's surface is young. It might have been altered by ongoing dynamic geologic processes that cover and obscure old impact craters. Lorenz, and Cassini interdisciplinary scientist Dr. Jonathan Lunine also of the University of Arizona, and other Cassini scientists, agree in this interpretation.

Given this newest image, Lunine said, "Cassini's radar has provided the first evidence for possible young cryovolcanism on Titan's surface. Now our challenge is to find out what is flowing, how it works, and the implications for Titan's evolution."

Oozing Across Titan for the multimedia article and image.

Titan is becomming even more interesting.