images

Snow squall on Titan

by

Walter B. Myers/Novapix

Reference

a-sat99-00324

Date

2010-02-15

A forbidding ethane snow squall immobilizes two explorers and their surface transportation. While there's been no evidence yet for the presence of snow on Titan, in September 2006 the Cassini orbiter detected what appears to be a massive ethane cloud surrounding Titan's north pole. This cloud may be snowing extremely cold--near minus 300° F--ethane snowflakes onto the surface below.