Space law has been around in one form or another for about 40 years now, mostly to prevent countries from going to war over who owns the Moon. Things have gotten a little more entertaining since the rise of the internet, as 'entrepreneurs' have come out of the woodwork claiming they own Mars, etc. and then selling extra-terrestrial real estate online.

But Ole Miss has taken thing to the next level, having set up the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law in 1999. They even publish the Journal of Space Law. That's forward thinking, but what they really need is a place to hold those space law trials: an orbital, zero-g courtroom.

Source: Space.com

Image: Space Law Probe

Minton, who already created vector maps of the islands in this sea, writes:

I went ahead and digitized the shoreline of the unnamed methane sea . . . It is one of the largest bodies of liquid known to exist on this moon of Saturn. This body of liquid methane, ethane and nitrogen is about the size of Lake Superior.

The orange opacity of Titan's atmosphere makes the moon appear bigger than it actually is - astronomers have since distinguished between permanent cloud cover and surface, and downgraded it from the first- to the second-largest moon in our system, after Jupiter's satellite Ganymede.

Not until the flyby, in 2004, of the Cassini-Huygens mission could scientists confirm the speculation, first ignited by both Voyager missions and then heightened by Hubble observations, that Titan is the only heavenly body (save Earth) to contain large liquid surfaces - or seas, as non-astronomers would call them. For they seem a bit too small to be labelled oceans.

These seas, or lakes, most probably consisting of methane or another hydrocarbon, can be seen on this page of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

EVS-Islands [via Strange Maps]

In the script for the Buck Rogers reboot, it's a Ukrainian strategic defense initiative satellite that's failing, although it's also carving huge swaths across the planet with its mega-laser weapon. Sort of like the Borg did in Enterprise when they chopped up Florida. Buck Rogers, superhero to millions and ace of the space skies is sent off to shoot the thing down, although it's partially sentient and dodges his superbomb. Buck, ever the hero, decides to go after the satellite with the only weapon he has left... himself.

He crashes into it, but is apparently obliterated in the process. But little known to those left behind, he's blasted into deep space as debris. On Earth, he's celebrated as a hero with statues and meals named after him, but the resulting nuclear explosion is seen in space and alien species start visiting the planet. This leads to problems later, the kind that only Buck can solve when he thaws out 100 years later. Although we'll never really know, because the script died in development, but we're patiently waiting his return, perhaps in 2108.

The 1970s were obsessed with large-scale disaster movies, offering audiences everything from Earthquake to Airport were all about massive mayhem and destruction with massive casts featuring top stars of the day, and Meteor stands as the bookend to that obsession. What's really impressive about the movie (besides the cast, which also included Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard, Henry Fonda) was that it was based on an M.I.T. student science project called Project Icarus. If you've ever wondered how to stop a four-billion ton rock from hitting the Earth, then you might want to rent the movie, and pick up the book of the science project. Oh, and keep Sean Connery on your speed dial.

Remember this last shot in the film of our intrepid heroes at Coney Island, enjoying a post-coital day of amusement? Apparently something huge splashes down into the ocean in the background. We missed it, but if you couple it with the translation from the graphic novel that says the Japanese Tagruato corporation's satellite fell from orbit, then bingo. You've got the alarm clock that woke up the monster from its deep-sea slumber. We have no idea if it's true or not, but there you have it. We now promise you a Cloverfield free week from here on out. Well, maybe.

Images courtesy of Sea Launch and AFP/Getty Images.

Satellite Launches from Equator [PhysOrg]