Riverbeds and Lakebeds Discovered on Saturn's Titan

Explanation: Methane rain, evaporating lakes, flowing rivers, and water ice-volcanoes all likely exist on Saturn's moon Titan, according to preliminary analyses of recent images taken by the successful Huygens lander . A snaking and branching riverbed is identified with the dark channel near the top of the above image , while a dark lakebed is identified across the image bottom. Both the riverbed and lakebed were thought to be dry at the time the image was taken but contained a flowing liquid - likely methane - in the recent past. Titan's surface was found to appear strangely similar to Earth even though it is so cold that methane flows and water freezes into rock-hard ice. Although the Huygens probe has now run out of power , the images it returned will likely be studied for decades to come. The Cassini mothership is scheduled to continue to orbit Saturn and return images for several more years.