Smithsonian Voices Solar System Chatter
Lighter Rings, Lagging Spring
February 1st, 2016, 3:06PM

Meanwhile, scientists are learning a lot about Titan (silhouetted above) as Saturn continues on its 30-year orbit around the sun. Cassini has been able to observe the unusual moon with the thick atmosphere for the last 10 years, while the seasons have changed from early winter to late spring. Cassini observations show one expected result: the latitude with the warmest temperatures (still a frigid -240 degrees Fahrenheit) shifted north as spring approached. But more unusual was that the northern hemisphere seemed a bit slow to warm up based on climate models. Scientists believe that has to do with Titan’s methane seas, which cover about 10 percent of the hemisphere, in the polar region. It’s taking the seas longer to warm up, and so the region lags behind with it.