• notfromhere
    cake
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    2 months ago

    I read practically the whole article, still have no idea what deltas are or why that matters.

    • Donald J. Musk@lemmy.todayOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      2 months ago

      On Earth, deltas form when rivers slow down as they reach larger bodies of water. These formations are important to scientists because they preserve geological, climatic, and even biological history over long periods.

      So the article is saying that Titan’s lack of deltas is surprising because of its active river systems of methane and ethane.

      Means that maybe we’re wrong to assume that wherever there are flowing rivers of liquid and sediment, deltas will naturally form.

      • notfromhere
        cake
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        2 months ago

        I guess it’s good we have another world nearby that has liquid other than water so we don’t make generalizations there.

        • Donald J. Musk@lemmy.todayOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          2 months ago

          Well it is pretty far away. And the whole point of the article was we are learning new things every day about planetary processes.