Rivers of methane flow in canyons on Titan
Saturn’s moon Titan is crisscrossed in deep and steep canyons carved by rivers of liquid methane, according to data from the Cassini probe.
The canyons are 244-579 m deep, up to 800 m wide, and slope up to 40 degrees. They are very much like canyons on Earth such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
The similarities between Earth and Titan, which are very different worlds, are a surprise to the scientists behind the discovery. Whereas Earth is warm and rocky and has rivers of water, Titan is cold and icy and has rivers of methane.
Scientists still do not know how the canyons formed, but they are probably the results of a long geological process, during which the landscape rose.