LOS ANGELES: Scientists have found the first widespread evidence of giant hydrocarbon lakes on the surface of Saturn's planet-size moon Titan.

The cluster of hydrocarbon lakes was spotted near Titan's frigid north pole during a weekend flyby by the international Cassini spacecraft.

Researchers counted about a dozen lakes ranging from 10 km to 100 km wide. Some lakes, which appeared as dark patches in radar images, were connected by channels while others had tributaries flowing into them. Several were dried up, but the ones that contained liquid were most likely a mix of methane and ethane.

"It was a real potpourri," said Cassini scientist Jonathan Lunine of the University of Arizona.

Titan is one of two moons in the solar system known to possess a significant atmosphere similar to primordial earth. But scientists have long puzzled over the source of its hazy atmosphere rich in nitrogen and methane.

Scientists believe methane gas breaks up in Titan's atmosphere and forms smog clouds that then rain methane down to the surface. But the source of methane inside the moon is still unknown, Mr. Lunine said. Cassini's next Titan encounter will be on September 7 when it will be 1,000 km away.

Cassini was launched in 1997 and took seven years to reach Saturn to explore the ringed planet and its moons. Cassini's accompanying probe, Huygens, developed and controlled by the European Space Agency, touched down on Titan in 2005. — AP

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