TITAN/US:US scientists have discovered what appear to be sea-size bodies of liquid, probably methane or ethane, on the surface of Saturn's largest moon.
The discovery by the international Cassini spacecraft was welcomed by researchers, who have long theorised that Titan possessed hydrocarbon seas because of methane and other organic compounds in its thick, largely nitrogen atmosphere.
Until now, Cassini had spotted only clusters of small lakes on the planet-size moon.
"They're very obvious. There's nothing subtle about them," said Cassini scientist Jonathan Lunine of the University of Arizona, Tucson.
Researchers using visual and radar imaging uncovered evidence of at least two seas on Titan's hazy north pole.
Cassini's camera last month spied a large, irregular feature stretching 680 miles with a surface area similar to Asia's landlocked Caspian Sea.
Its radar instrument swept over the feature's northern tip and determined that it probably contains liquid methane or ethane because of its smooth appearance.
However, scientists do not know whether the entire area is filled with liquid.
The spacecraft also discerned another body one-fifth the size of Titan's "Caspian Sea". With a surface area of about 46,000 square miles , it is larger than Lakes Superior and Ontario combined, scientists said at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas. - ( AP)