APOD January 24

[ruidh]

What did they mean by this "Both the riverbed and lakebed were thought to be dry at the time the image was taken but contained a flowing liquid - likely methane - in the recent past."?

I followed the link but it didn't seem to mention anything like this. Is the prevailing view that the probe landed on a "muddy" lake bottom?

[Boldra]

"Recent past" seems a pretty evasive description. Do they mean a couple of days ago, or are they talking about "geologically recent", a phrase that comes up frequently in relation to Martian water.

Essentially what I think is being said is that "liquid has flowed here more recently than a meteor hit it" But it could be that not many meteors get through Titan's atmosphere anyway?

Boldra

[S. Bilderback]

Titan has a rainy season, the clouds are in the southern hemisphere where there is rain and are migrating north. I don't remember the estimated length of a Titan's seasonal year (but it' is long), if the rains come every season; the number floating around is in the 250-year range.