NASA's Cassini mission reveals tallest peak on Saturn's moon "Titan"

Scientists working on NASA's Cassini mission have already identified the highest peak on Saturn's largest moon Titan. Titan's tallest peak is 10,948 feet high.

The researchers also found out that all of Titan's highest peaks are about 10,000 feet in elevation. The study used images and other data from Cassini's radar instrument to reveal the surfaces in-depth.

"It's not only the highest point we've found so far on Titan, but we think it's the highest point we're likely to find," said Stephen Wall, deputy lead of the Cassini radar team at NASA. Most of Titan's tallest mountains appear to be close to the equator. 

The researchers identified other peaks of similar height within the Mithrim Montes, as well as in the rugged region known as Xanadu.

"As explorers, we're motivated to find the highest or deepest places partly because it's exciting. But Titan's extremes also tell us important things about forces affecting its evolution," added Jani Radebaugh, a Cassini radar team associate at Brigham Young University in Utah. On the earth, cliffs and mountains are usually found in locations where forces have pushed the surface upwards from down underneath.

 Himalayas and the Andes are some examples. Cassini has also discovered that Titan also has rain and rivers that erode its landscape. Titan having some signification mountain present suggests that some active forces could be inducing an affect on the surface

The fact that Titan has significant mountains suggests that some active tectonic forces could be affecting the surface. Researchers now will be trying to find out what could be the reason behind such tall peaks on the Titan.

"There is lot of value in examining the topography of Titan in a broad, global sense, since it tells us about forces acting on the surface from below as well as above," said Radebaugh.