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Through a process of elimination, the scientists have whittled the number of potential explanations down to four. It could be one or more icebergs floating around, or material in suspension beneath the surface.
But Cassini's radar might also have picked up a rush of bubbles coming from the depths of the sea, or captured the first signs of deep-sea waves on Titan. Last year's Cassini fly-by found that Ligeia mare, Titan's second-largest lake, was as smooth as glass. The tranquil expanse of liquid methane and ethane had no waves or surface ripples larger than 1mm.
The profound stillness may be because the wind on Titan is so feeble. But that could be changing. Titan's orbital path and tilted axis make for seasons that last for seven Earth years. The northern hemisphere is gently warming now, as spring gives way to summer, which arrives in earnest in Warmer weather brings stronger winds, and stronger winds bring waves.
The sun is shining brighter, and that energy can be powering the winds. All you would need is a light breeze, around half a metre per second," said Hofgartner, whose study appeared in the journal Nature Geoscience. But the wind on Titan may never be strong enough to stir truly impressive waves.
Astronomers have named the blob the "magic island" until they have a better idea what they are looking at. At their best, these make-believe buddies were cute, helpful, and whimsical… Christine Tran Sep 29, Spies and Intrigue in London Tour 0. But Cassini's radar might also have picked up a rush of bubbles coming from the depths of the sea, or captured the first signs of deep-sea waves on Titan. If that was the case, then the Queen had literally killed her rival with kindness. How to use a word that literally drives some people nuts. They spotted the object in an image taken by Nasa's Cassini probe last year as it swung around the alien moon, more than a billion kilometres from Earth.
The hydrocarbon seas, he added, are a chilly C. If waves are the cause of the curious white blob, then Cassini spotted them before they had spread more widely across the sea.
Follow-up images in the next few months are expected to shed more light on the mystery. But they do seem to be the first sign of something going on in the sea. Is it floating solids or erupting gas bubbles from below or wave action?
We just don't know. The one thing we can say with certainty is that we just have to go back to Titan — but this time with a sea floater so that we can see close up just what is happening in the seas of this incredible place. In March, some of the researchers who worked with Hofgartner reported what may have been glimpses of tiny waves on another Titan sea, called Punga mare. Instruments aboard Cassini found that sunlight reflecting off the sea was brighter than expected in places, an effect that could be caused by waves lapping at the shore.
Nasa has toyed with the idea of sending a boat to sail on the seas of Titan, but the proposal lost out to a mission to Mars.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'intrigue. French intricate affair, from Italian intrigo , from intrigare to entangle, from Latin intricare — see intricate. See more words from the same year. More Definitions for intrigue. See the full definition for intrigue in the English Language Learners Dictionary. Words that rhyme with intrigue. Translation of intrigue for Spanish Speakers.
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Other Words from intrigue Verb intriguer noun. Synonyms for intrigue Synonyms: Noun conspiracy , design , machination , plot , scheme Synonyms: Verb collude , compass , connive , conspire , contrive , machinate , plot , put up , scheme Visit the Thesaurus for More. Choose the Right Synonym for intrigue Noun plot , intrigue , machination , conspiracy , cabal mean a plan secretly devised to accomplish an evil or treacherous end.