back to article Titan sprouts 'Magic Island', say astroboffins

Astroboffins monitoring Titan have spotted something new that hints at how the moon's weather works. The folks behind the discovery have named the new feature a “magic island”, because nobody knows what it is or why it appeared. The discovery is detailed in a Nature Geoscience letter titled “Transient features in a Titan sea …

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  1. Evil Auditor Silver badge
    Alien

    Re Titan is alive and kicking

    Let's hope Titan (aka LV-426) never starts its own space programme...

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: Re Titan is alive and kicking

      That is not dead which can eternal lie!

      1. Gordon 10
        Alien

        Re: Re Titan is alive and kicking

        ^(;,;)^ :€

        must contain letters - bah humbug

  2. A Non e-mouse Silver badge
    Coat

    D'you think they grow magic mushrooms on their magic island?

  3. jake Silver badge

    It's not "magic".

    It's climatological and geological.

    We just need to figure out why.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      Re: It's not "magic".

      Professor Jake begs his compatriots to remain calm. The situation is being monitored!

      1. jake Silver badge

        Re: It's not "magic".

        You really are clueless, aren't you, DAM.

        Perhaps getting an education instead of demonstrating your lack of clue would be a better path.

        1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

          Re: It's not "magic".

          The path of clue-do is its own reward!

    2. spaceyjase

      Re: It's not "magic".

      Feels like magic though. As a race, we're still discovering things about this planet and here's a whole other rock in space of truly undiscovered wonder, observed from afar by naive observers.

      1. jake Silver badge

        @spaceyjase (was: Re: It's not "magic".)

        "Feels like" means "I don't understand it".

        Charles Fort: "a performance that may some day be considered understandable, but that, in these primitive times, so transcends what is said to be the known; that it is what I mean by magic."

        Leigh Brackett: "Witchcraft to the ignorant, .... Simple science to the learned".

        A. C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @spaceyjase (was: It's not "magic".)

          Dave Lister: "We have in our midst a complete smeg pot. Brains in the anal region. Chin absent, presumed missing. Genitalia small and inoffensive. Of no value or interest."

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's not "magic".

      Epic epic sarcasm fail

      Hint for future Jakey boy... quote marks round words sometimes suggest that sarcasm is being employed

      Alternatively, try listening carefully for whooshing noises whilst you read.

      HTH

    4. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

      Re: It's not "magic".

      "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

      (c) Arthur C Clarke.

    5. mIRCat
      Coat

      Re: It's not "magic".

      "It's not "magic"."

      The resolution of the images isn't high enough to spot their summer homes, but Mithrandir, Dumbledore, and David Blaine are a bit disappointed to hear you say that.

      My coat is the Grey one.

  4. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Alien

    The mere fact that the creature appeared...

    Rumour has it that some of the creatures are so (ahem) titanic, that they are often mistaken for islands by visiting sailors and indeed scientific parties, who may land on them for research or indeed barbecues. Their mistake is oft-times fatal when the creature once again descends to the depths.

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    1. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: The Kraken wakes.

      No, those aren't Kraken wakes, they have a distinct V shape

      Sorry, couldn't resist

  6. Fink-Nottle

    Fjords are difficult to get right ... they do give a planet a baroque feel, but it's easy to overdo 'em.

  7. Britt Johnston
    Alien

    how can an island just appear?

    The black sea is receding - an oil spill, washed off by methane rain??

    1. Paul Kinsler
      Joke

      Re: how can an island just appear?

      How? By magic, apparently. :-)

      And before all you nay-sayers start off, it is well known that any sufficiently primitive magic is indistinguishable from technology (or, possibly, just indistinguishable from some not especially obvious physical process or other).

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Or Titan is slowly drying up

    Why? A huge bloated atmosphere and the liquid on the ground is confined to a few relatively small areas. Now if I was a betting man I'd lay a few quid on the fact that Titan is undergoing a very slow runaway greenhouse style effect and that in a few thousand/million years (take your pick), Titan will be completely dry of liquid hydrocarbons with them all having evaporated into its atmosphere swelling it even more. Whereas in the past - looking at the landscape - its fairly obvious there was oceans worth of liquid on the surface , far more than today.

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  9. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
    Coat

    Let's call it Leshp!

    That immediately explains the way it appeared too, and nothing to do with Kraken (but a curious squiddy connection remains)

    Mine is the one with Jingo! in the pocket

  10. Bunbury

    The interesting bit is not in the red circle

    Yes, that shows something shiny where it was black before. But if you compare the lighter area it the before and after shots it has definately fattened up. So, for example, it seems unlikely to be winds action on waves generating higher albedo, because if so how has it done it consistently in all the little bay areas too?

    It does havethe look of land and sea about it, so possible the sea has dropped a bit. Perhaps it tends to freeze when in contact with the land?

  11. Frumious Bandersnatch

    Islands appearing as we look at the planet*

    Isn't that what happened in Solaris?

    (*well, ok, moon)

  12. Your alien overlord - fear me

    If that was just a wave would this be a Titanfail (Titanfall getit) ?

  13. Stevie

    Iä!

    The Stars must Be Right!

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Does Titan have Tides

    If someone showed me those photos of an Earthly coastline, I would say that looks looks like tidal differences. The whole peninsula seems wider and higher.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Surely this is just high tide and low tide?

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Alien

    'Tis the white space-whale, I tell ye!!

    So who at NASA gets the Spanish gold ounce?

    (P.S.--please don't choose "Pequod" as the name of the first ship to Titan)

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re. Titan

    The possibility of methane instead of water based bacteria isn't completely deranged.

    They might grow incredibly slowly, in cell divisions per week but still be alive.

    Of course, if so then that "transient island" might be an algal bloom using radiant energy from Saturn and the tiny amount of sunlight filtering through to grow, maybe.

  18. Graham Marsden
    Alien

    Aha!

    The mystery of Lost Atlantis solved at last!!!

  19. jpatten10157

    The Titanians have observed Earth, and have concluded "Much too warm, and much too little methane and ethane, for life to exist. However, we're trying to figure out all that toxic free oxygen."

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Combination effect - heat or tide?

    It is clear that in the later shot there is a much higher aspect to the light source - note the increased albedo on 'west' facing slopes and peaks. Also there appears to be a 'terminator' line about 30% from the 'east' edge. The 'new' features are not limited to the magic island, but are limited to the area to the 'west' of the terminator line. There is not cloud in the area.

    This all suggests increased liquid temperatures and lower density. Sunk 'icebergs' will float; evaporation will pick up dramatically and gas will push into cold 'east' area and contract creating hell of a west wind keeping the air clear and possible contributing to a tidal surge 'eastward' also exposing more 'land' in the west.

    The higher light aspect has also highlighted many previously shadowy images in the 'west' revealing previously indistinct surface features which are also now "thickened" by surge=induced local drop in 'sea-level'. ... or too could be eating mushrooms.:-)

  21. Zog_but_not_the_first
    Joke

    It's not an island...

    ... it's a giant German beach towel.

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