New Delhi, India

In a recent study, scientists have hinted that secret alien life is hiding in the methane present on Saturn's largest moon Titan. 

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Titan is a celestial body which has an atmosphere filled with surface liquids and methane in the form of lakes, rivers and seas which are similar to those present on Earth.

Titan has subzero temperatures because of which the bodies of water are composed of hydrocarbons like ethane and methane and its land masses consist of solid water ice.

The study, published in The Planetary Science Journal, revealed some marvellous features about Titan.

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The study, headed by planetary scientists at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, stated that methane gas was most probably present inside the ice which formed an isolated crust that was six miles thick.

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Lead research associate Lauren Schurmeier said that the crust warms the underlying ice shell and accounts for the rich methane atmosphere of Titan.

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Titan’s unique topography

The impact craters of Titan were found to be much more shallow than expected which are only hundreds of metres deep. Also, only 90 such craters are on this moon.

“This was very surprising because, based on other moons, we expect to see many more impact craters on the surface and craters that are much deeper than what we observe on Titan,” Schurmeier said.

“We realised something unique to Titan must be making them become shallower and disappear relatively quickly," he added.

According to the computer simulations, the layer of insulating methane clathrate ice on Titan has a thickness of around 3 to 6 miles.

The crust is likely to result in a warmer interior which can cause rapid topographic relaxation that leads to the crater becoming shallow at a faster rate.

Watch: Study Suggests Earth Had Saturn-Like Rings That Lasted For Tens Of Millions Of Years

The investigation into the thickness of the methane ice shell of Titan will throw light on the methane-rich atmosphere of the moon and will help scientists understand its carbon cycle, evolving climate and liquid methane-based “hydrological cycle".

“Titan is a natural laboratory to study how the greenhouse gas methane warms and cycles through the atmosphere,” Schurmeier said.

“Earth’s methane clathrate hydrates, found in the permafrost of Siberia and below the arctic seafloor, are currently destabilising and releasing methane. So, lessons from Titan can provide important insights into processes happening on Earth," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)