NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Peculiar crystals could be abundant on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, potentially creating environments where microbes could live.
Morgan Cable at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and her colleagues simulated Titan’s methane rain and ethane flooding, and found that a salt-like compound formed quickly and stuck around, even after being repeatedly washed over.
This suggests that the chemical slurry on the surface could create a “co-crystal”. But rather than salt composed of sodium and chloride, these are formed by …