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(Photo: NASA/JPL)
PROVO, Utah (AP) -- Saturn's largest moon looks remarkably like Earth with a landscape of rivers and lakes and mountains and volcanoes.
But a Brigham Young University researcher says the moon, Titan, is inhospitable -- the surface temperature is negative 289 degrees and the liquid isn't water. It's thought to be methane.
BYU geology and planetary science professor Jani Radebaugh has wrapped up a NASA-commissioned study that focused on radar images to map dunes on Titan's surface and determine the prevailing winds.
It was the first time scientists have peered through Titan's thick atmosphere to see the surface, and Radebaugh says they were surprised by the Earth-like features.
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Information from: The Daily Herald
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
