Official News page 8

REAL LIFE NEWS: TITAN HAS AN ICE VOLCANO

by Hazed

I can see I am going to have to make more modifications to the Titan map file because in real life, we keep on finding more and more strange features on the moon. Scientists have now discovered a "cryovolcano" - the first one known to humans - a volcano made of ice that spews out freezing slush.

The feature in question has been known to astronomers for a long time. It appears as a bright spot in the Aztlan region of Titan, and it is called Sotra Facula. Now detailed maps of the surface of Titan are available, thanks to the Cassini probe, so scientists have been able to examine the feature in closer detail. "We are struck by its resemblance to volcanoes like Mt Etna in Italy, Laki in Iceland and even some small volcanic cones and flows near my hometown of Flagstaff," said Randolph Kirk, geophysicist at the US Astrogeology Science Center.

You can read more about the ice volcano here.

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