Titanic Ocean?

Saturn's moon Titan is larger than the planet Mercury and has an atmosphere that is thicker than Earth's Organic molecules litter its surface. Now, some clever scientific reasoning suggests there might be a substantial water ocean under that surface.

Scientists putting rogether a map of Titan's surface based upon images taken during the Casini mission found that, over a few short years, surface features had shifted position. The surface seems to be drifting-- or floating. The fact that the surface has changed on such a short time scale suggests to some scientists a model of the world of three basic elements-- a large core made of rock and ice, a thin surface, and an ocean of water between the two. That ocean would eventually harden into ice. In that model, the surface is floating around on the ocean underneath. A similar model has been suggested for Jupiter's moons Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. Other scientists say longer observations of Titan is necessary before such a theory can be accepted.

If accurate, however, that model has some fascinating implications. Titan would be a dynamic world in which organic chemistry takes place, and it would have a huge ocean of water. The possibility of life on Titan would be squarely before us.