One of the most fascinating bodies in the solar system, Saturn's moon Titan recently became more intriguing with the discovery of a giant ice cloud hovering over.
According to Space.com, NASA scientists reviewing data from the Cassini spacecraft noticed the cloud hovering over Titan's southern hemisphere just above its troposphere. The cloud means Titan will experience an even colder winter than previously expected.
"When we looked at the infrared data, this ice cloud stood out like nothing we've ever seen before," Carrie Anderson, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a new release. "It practically smacked us in the face."
Past data from Cassini has shown evidence of massive oceans covering Titan's surface, but they are made up of methane and ethane. With clouds covering the moon's surface at a maximum altitude of just less than 200 miles, Titan could be a prime candidate for some form of alien life.
"The opportunity to see the early stages of winter on Titan is very exciting," Robert Samuelson, a researcher at Goddard, said in the release. "Everything we are finding at the south pole tells us that the onset of southern winter is much more severe than the late stages of Titan's northern winter."
