NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured a fuzzy image of Saturn’s moon Titan that looks a like like Earth, or so the internet thinks. This may not be too surprising given the fact that Titan is currently the only known object in space other than Earth on which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been discovered.
Titan is also the only planetary body other than Earth that currently has rivers, lakes, and seas. However, the liquid that you see on Titan’s surface is actually composed of hydrocarbons including methane and ethane, not water, while its atmosphere is filled with thick haze that obscures visible light reflecting off the surface.
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We had waited for years to use Webb’s infrared vision to study Titan’s atmosphere, including its fascinating weather patterns and gaseous composition, and also see through the haze to study albedo features (bright and dark patches) on the surface,” said Thaddeus Cesari, NASA Web Editor.
