The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first evidence of cloud formation in the northern hemisphere of Saturn’s moon Titan, revealing dynamic weather similar to Earth.

Observed in 2022 and 2023 with help from Hawaii’s Keck Observatory, the data showed cloud convection and also identified a key organic molecule, the methyl radical, linked to Titan’s methane-based chemistry.

These findings, published in Nature Astronomy, build on discoveries made by NASA’s earlier Cassini mission, Space.com has reported.

NASA plans to launch the Dragonfly mission in 2028 to further explore Titan’s surface and search for signs of prebiotic chemistry.

Written by B.C. Begley