The identification of liquid ethane in Titan’s Ontario Lacus

R. H. Brown (), L. A. Soderblom, J. M. Soderblom, R. N. Clark, R. Jaumann, J. W. Barnes, C. Sotin, B. Buratti, K. H. Baines and P. D. Nicholson
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R. H. Brown: University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
L. A. Soderblom: US Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA
J. M. Soderblom: University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
R. N. Clark: US Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80225, USA
R. Jaumann: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
J. W. Barnes: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
C. Sotin: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91107, USA
B. Buratti: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91107, USA
K. H. Baines: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91107, USA
P. D. Nicholson: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 454, issue 7204, 607-610

Abstract: An ethane lake on Titan Saturn's moon Titan was once thought to have global oceans of light hydrocarbons on its surface, but the Cassini spacecraft's 40 close flybys of Titan have shown that no such oceans exist. Yet there are surface features similar to terrestrial lakes and seas. Infrared spectroscopic data from Cassini's 38th flyby reveal a possible explanation. The spectra and physical appearance of Ontario Lacus, a lake-like structure near Titan's south pole, support the idea that it is filled with liquid ethane, probably in solution with methane, nitrogen and other hydrocarbons.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07100

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