新媒网 · 跨境数据社区

Imagine a world where lakes are filled with natural gas and it rains fuel from the sky. This isn't science fiction—it's Titan, Saturn's largest moon. On this frigid world, temperatures hover around -290°F, causing methane to exist as a liquid rather than a gas. Titan has a complete "methane cycle" similar to Earth's water cycle, with clouds forming, rains falling, and seas collecting the hydrocarbon precipitation. These rains aren't gentle water droplets, but something closer to what you pump into your car. Scientists have discovered that Titan's atmosphere produces downpours of methane and ethane—compounds similar to gasoline—which fill seas and carve river channels across the moon's surface. Due to Titan's low gravity and thick atmosphere, these hydrocarbon raindrops fall at a leisurely 1.6 m/s, much slower than rain on Earth! The Cassini-Huygens mission revealed this alien weather system, showing us just how diverse planetary conditions can be. Our universe continues to amaze with environments we can barely imagine existing.