I’m clearly in the wrong field.

A radio wave of unknown origin was recently detected on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and may be the result of an ocean hidden beneath the moon’s surface.  This comes from evidence collected two years ago when the Cassini-Huygens probe plunged through the atmosphere of the planetary body.

Here on Earth, radio waves can occur naturally during lightning strikes.  These flashes of highly charged electricity cause electrons in the atmosphere to oscillate at particular frequencies to release the waves.  From here, the waves bounce back and forth between the surface and ionosphere.

While this is a regular occurence on Earth, the discovery of such radio waves on Titan could be noteworthy for two primary reasons.  The first involves data already collected about Titan that suggests little or no evidence of lightning to trigger the waves, which would mean that something else must be creating these waves.  These waves are also unusual because the moon’s surface is incredibly dusty, which makes it a poor reflector of radio waves.  To this end, the waves must be bouncing off something beneath the surface.

According to a member of the team that runs the Huygens’ sensor, the wave “could have been reflected by the liquid-ice boundary of a subsurface ocean of water and ammonia predicted by theoretical models.”

Of course, much of this is theory.  Scientists at the ESA are now checking to see if there was perhaps an error in the probe’s data.  Personally, I hope it all checks out.  If we can find yet another ocean to explore, we can put some of the incredible machines produced by Stone Aerospace to use.

The universe is teasing us with glimpses of the wonders that await future generations, and I can’t wait to see what’s out there.