Titan’s haze is dropping

Change in elevation of cloudy layer suggests seasonal cycles

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — The sky is falling on Titan. An upper layer of the Saturnian moon’s hazy shroud has plunged more than 100 kilometers since the Cassini spacecraft whizzed by in 2004, suggesting that shifting seasons can do more than dump rain.

The mysterious atmospheric haze surrounding Titan, Saturn’s largest moon (seen at center), apparently changes in altitude seasonally, scientists have found.