The alien counterpart of the Nile has just been photographed by the US NASA space probe Cassini, as the river is flowing the surface on Saturn’s largest moon – Titan.

This is the first river system found beyond our planet. The river is 400 kilometers (249 miles) long and has already been named “Nile”. It flows into a sea, forming a delta, a wide range of outflows reminiscent of the Egyptian Nile delta in the Mediterranean.

But it doesn’t be fooled by the similarities to Earth. Instead of water, Titans river system consists of hydrocarbons, methane, and ethane. They stay in a liquid form because of a high air pressure and the extremely low temperatures, at about minus 180 degrees Celsius.

Titan is the only object in our solar system where scientists are certain that there is liquid on the surface. The photos sent back to Earth by the Cassini probe during its last five years, shows lakes, seas, rivers, and even traces of excess rainfall.

Thomas Farrof at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California has this to say concerning the discovery; “We think it’s raining in the highlands and flowing down into these river valleys,”. “Usually when we look at another planet, we’re cautioned not to bring our Earth experience too much to bear, because we might fool ourselves,” says Farr. “But here we look at a completely alien world and it looks just like the Earth. It’s hard to believe.”

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Cassini Spots Mini Nile River on Saturn Moon
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