A team of scientists led by planetary scientist and study author Rosaly Lopes of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory used data from the Cassini mission gathered between 2004 and 2017 to stitch together a geologic map of the moon’s surface.
So what exactly does the moon’s surface look like? Well, it has a rich topography. About two-thirds of Titan’s surface is covered in flat plains. Around 17 percent of the moon—mostly near the equator—is covered in sand dunes, while nearly 14 percent of the surface consists of hummocky, or hilly, terrain. A small slice of the surface is covered in what scientists call “labyrinth” terrain, a network of highly eroded valleys.
In case you are keeping track:
Jupiter moon: Water vapor found on Jupiter's moon Europa, fueling hopes in
An international research team led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland published a study Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy that confirmed the presence of water vapor on Europa. While scientists had previously detected giant geysers bursting into space, they couldn't prove they had water in them — until now.
"Confirming that water vapor is present above Europa helps scientists better understand the inner workings of the moon," NASA said in a statement Monday. "For example, it helps support an idea, of which scientists are confident, that there's a liquid water ocean, possibly twice as big as Earth's, sloshing beneath this moon's miles-thick ice shell."
Several north suburban towns join solar power program - Chicago Tribune
Several area towns are partnering with an Elgin-based solar facility as part of an alternative energy program.
By subscribing to the pilot program, communities are promised to receive a 10% standard discount on their municipal accounts, plus a corresponding reduction in energy usage from other sources.
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Lake Forest Mayor George Pandaleon noted in a statement the city's participation is part of a continued interest in regional sustainability initiatives.
Smallest dwarf planet in the solar system identified by European scientists
Astronomers may very well have stumbled across one of the smallest dwarf planets our solar system has ever seen. Using the European Southern Observatory's powerful SPHERE imaging system at the Very Large Telescope array (VLT), a team was able to snap a new image of an object that's now being called Hygiea, found within our solar system's asteroid belt.
For Hygiea to be considered a dwarf planet and not an asteroid, it has to satisfy certain requirements. As such, it meets three out of four already: it is not a moon, it orbits the Sun, and it has not "cleared the neighborhood around its orbit." This means that it will have become gravitationally dominant – simply put, there aren't any other bodies of a similar size other than its natural satellites around it.
While you're here, how about this:
Enormous Asteroid Measuring More Than 2,000 Feet Wide to Whizz Past Our Planet Tomorrow
Tomorrow, a giant asteroid measuring up to 2,034 feet in diameter will speed safely past Earth at around 17,800 miles per hour.
The space rock—dubbed 481394 (2006 SF6)—will make its close approach at 7:01 p.m. EDT on November 20 when it will come within around 2.7 million miles of our planet, or about 11 times the Earth-Moon distance, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS.)
The space rock was first discovered on September 17, 2006 by the Catalina Sky Survey—an astronomical project designed to look for asteroids and comets managed by scientists at the Steward Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.
Trans solidarity has reached outer space as Jupiter says 'trans rights!'
Jupiter has come out as a trans ally, and, in an official statement, said it needs space from transphobes. (NASA)
What’s that up in the sky? Is it a bird? A plane? It’s Jupiter saying, at the top of its gas-filled lungs, “trans rights!”
The fifth planet from the sun has made the groundbreaking decision to come out in favour of trans rights.
Jupiter says trans rights. https://t.co/TikKjuim0L — 🏳️⚧️🦋🌻 Stella🦄🌸🏳️⚧️ (@stellas2ndact) November 18, 2019
Old dog solar panel manufacturer, Panasonic, learning new home storage tricks – pv magazine
ESA studies human hibernation for space travel | Human World | EarthSky
The European Space Agency (ESA) said on November 18, 2019, that its scientists have recently been investigating the process of placing astronauts into hibernation to cross the vastness of space. These scientists met at ESA’s Concurrent Design Facility to assess the advantages of human hibernation for a trip to a neighboring planet, such as Mars. They took as their reference an existing study that described sending six humans to Mars and back on a five-year timescale.
Jennifer Ngo-Anh , a team leader in ESA’s Science in Space Environment ( SciSpacE ) program, commented:
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