High Noon on Titanic Beach
18 February 2014

Getting away from New York and Connecticut for a while may be a good idea in this weather.  How about Saturn?

The Cassini-Huygens probe launched by NASA and the European Space Agency in late 1997 went into orbit around Saturn in 2004 and has been returning stunning data and pictures ever since.   In December 2004 the satellite released a sub-probe called Huygens which soft landed on Saturn's giant moon Titan a few weeks later.
 

Titan has since become famous as the only OTHER place in the solar system where waves gently lap the shores of remote beaches and gentle rains wash down from the mountains in chuckling rivulets, emptying into peaceful lakes.  

Before planning your next vacation though it's instructive to look more closely at this promising vacation spot:

• 1. It's a bit chilly: -290oF 
• Leave the shades home.  The sun looks like a very bright star at high noon.  That's about it. 
• The lakes and seas are not water; they are crystal-clear liquid methane - Natural gas. 
• Sure, go for a swim - but since liquid methane's not particularly buoyant you'll sink like a stone. 
• Want to build sand castles?  Fine, but since the sand on Titan is a weird hyper-solid water ice, watch where you put the grill!  "Oh no!  Dad melted the beach!" 
• Better forget the grill altogether since the atmosphere's mostly nitrogen.  Add enough O2 to get a good flame and the lakes explode (Right. Natural gas)

Bon Voyage!