A mysterious "Magic Island" appeared on Saturn's moon Titan.
Cassini mission radar images from NASA revealed the geological object that wasn't there before in Titan's second-largest ocean Ligeia Mare, a Cornell University news release reported.
"This discovery tells us that the liquids in Titan's northern hemisphere are not simply stagnant and unchanging, but rather that changes do occur," Jason Hofgartner, a Cornell University graduate student in the field of planetary sciences, and the paper's lead author said in the news release. "We don't know precisely what caused this 'magic island' to appear, but we'd like to study it further."
Titan is the largest of Saturn's 62 moons and closely resembles Earth geologically; it has a nitrogen-methane atmosphere and is full of vast oceans and tall mountains. Instead of water the moon's oceans and rivers contain liquid methane and ethane.
To make their findings the researchers turned to a study method called "flipping"; the team flipped between old images of Titan and new ones in hopes of detecting a sign of change.
"With flipping, the human eye is pretty good at detecting change," Hofgartner said.
The moon's northern hemisphere is currently transitioning from spring to summer, which could help explain the geological change. The change could be spurring large waves on Ligeia Mare, which could look like a "ghost island" on the Cassini radar. Gas bubbles in the sea could also cause the phenomenon.
Another explanation for the strange sighting could be sunken solids that have now risen to the surface.
"Likely, several different processes - such as wind, rain and tides - might affect the methane and ethane lakes on Titan. We want to see the similarities and differences from geological processes that occur here on Earth," Hofgartner said. "Ultimately, it will help us to understand better our own liquid environments here on the Earth."
