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Sea in space

COMPILED BY SUBAJAYANTHI B.

ON SATURN: Sea-sized body of liquid. PHOTO: AP

Scientists have discovered what appear to be sea-size bodies of liquid, probably methane or ethane, on the surface of Saturn's largest moon. The discovery was made by the international Cassini spacecraft. Until now, Cassini had spotted only clusters of small lakes on the planet- size moon. "They're very obvious. There's nothing subtle about them," said Cassini scientist Jonathan Lunine of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Researchers using visual and radar imaging uncovered evidence of at least two seas on Titan's hazy north pole. Titan is one of the few objects in the outer solar system with a significant atmosphere, and scientists have long puzzled over its source. Methane is a flammable gas on earth but is liquid on Titan because of the moon's intense atmospheric pressure and cold.

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