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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

TITAN

Titan holds great mystery. It has an atmosphere and looks like a mini planet.

From Mission Control - (Jun 16, 2004) Cassini hasn't just been focused on Phoebe; it's also turned its camera on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. This image of the mysterious, cloud covered moon was taken on May 22, when the spacecraft was 21.7 million km (13.5 million miles) away. The northern hemisphere is much brighter than the southern hemisphere, which is the exact opposite situation that the Voyager spacecraft saw when they flew by 23 years ago, and it indicates the moon in the opposite season.

[NatureDevil]

They say Europa has the greatest chance of supporting life in the solar system other than Earth, but I always thought Titan was a good candidate as well.

Read a few articles about it back in the day, but not much lately.

NatureDevil

[starbux]

Unfortunately, I think the likelihood of finding Earth-based organisms on one of these moons is not to be dismissed. Sterilization procedures on our probes aren't as thorough as they were with the Viking landers.

I'm curious though, back when Voyager went by Saturn and Titan, the atmospheric haze was too dense to see the surface. Now I've read more recently that bright areas that supposedly correspond with actual surface features have been seen. Does this mean that there has been a clearing up of the haze since then, and if so, how?

Just happened upon this image and article after posting the above. What do you all make of this?
uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/4/wa/SRStoryDetails?ArticleID=9288


This extraordinary view of Saturn's moon, Titan, was produced with an Earth-based telescope using a new kind of camera developed by UA astronomer Laird Close. Titan is about 800 million miles away. The resolution of this image is 360 kilometers, about 200 miles. (Photo: Markus Hartung, ESO, and Laird Close, UA Steward Observatory)

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

That is an incredible shot of Titan. I'm sure the colors have been enhanced, but even so...look at the blue haze around the planet. It's almost Mars-like.

There is talk now that somethings are changing in our solar system: Jupiter 200% brighter, Venus gaining more oxygen, the thin atmospheres on Mars and the Moon getting denser.....I'll put up a new board on this, and lets examine this possible phenomenon.

Thanks for the pic of Titan. It's almost satellite fly-by quality.

[NatureDevil]

Nice photo, looks like something happened to Titans' atmosphere.

That, or with the new photgraphy technique we are just seeing it much better than we have in the past.

NatureDevil

[starbux]

Chicago said:

There is talk now that somethings are changing in our solar system: Jupiter 200% brighter, Venus gaining more oxygen, the thin atmospheres on Mars and the Moon getting denser.....I'll put up a new board on this, and lets examine this possible phenomenon.

Thanks for the pic of Titan. It's almost satellite fly-by quality.

Yes, I've heard Hoagland on "Coast to Coast AM" mention these (not regarding the moon though, that's a new one to me). At times he goes out on a limb to the point of hurting his own credibilty, but I've also paid enough attention to discoveries (including the old Viking data) to see when he's been right more often than establishment folks want to admit. I vividly remember the Viking lander photos showing a blue sky on Mars (and Earth-based photos support this!), yet ever since Pathfinder, all space-probe photos of Mars have been excessively red-tinted. But I digress. My comments probably are more suited to the "Unexplained" board.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Titan's Surface Revealed

Piercing the smog enshrouding Titan, new images from Cassini reveal an exotic surface covered with a variety of materials

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Wow...just look at the features in this low resolution image from Cassini! Even now, one can make out details. Wouldn't it be too cool to have liquid methane oceans on soft beaches?

More on Titan here at NASA's site: science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/04jul_titanrevealed.htm?list1069419

[starbux]

Titanic weather:


These images of Titan's south polar clouds, acquired over a five-hour period on July 2, 2004, track how the clouds change through time. Titan's atmosphere appears to be quite dynamic.
Images: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute. Animation: Astronomy: Francis Reddy
(reload if animation stops)

www.astronomy.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/773cziyv.asp

Second image on the page. It wouldn't let me hotlink to the image to display here.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Starbux...

Here is the animation of the Titan clouds:

It appears that cloud mechanics are a universal phenomenon. I wonder how many alien eyes are looking at their skies, and making out cloud shapes, flying alien kites in the wind.

(I tried to post the image on your post, but for some reason, it wasn't possible. What did you do?)

Thanks for the link.

[stargazer]

Some of the Scientist are saying that Titan is the closet to early Earth as they can find. It has an atmosphere that contains methane and oxygen. The also think there may be liquid water on the surface. I guess we will know come Jan when the probe is sent over there. I cant wait to see what it shows.

[starbux]

stargazer said:

Some of the Scientist are saying that Titan is the closet to early Earth as they can find. It has an atmosphere that contains methane and oxygen. The also think there may be liquid water on the surface. I guess we will know come Jan when the probe is sent over there. I cant wait to see what it shows.

Likewise. But I think you are mistaken about the oxygen, unless they just detected it. From what I heard before, it was methane and nitrogen that had been detected. In fact free oxygen (not as part of a compound like CO₂ or H₂O) would be an almost sure sign of life, though it is not impossible that they might detect life on Titan.

On Mars the detection of a continued presence of methane has been argued as a sign of life, though on Titan, the (presumably) colder atmosphere is a reason for the presence of methane.

[stargazer]

Hi Guys,

While talking to a Scientist friend of mine about Saturn and the mission I had said something in the lines I heard they found oxygen on Titan. He said he saw the same thing and sent me a story about Titan and this is just a small portion of that story to go along with my first post of this Moon. I am only putting this in here to answer my original posting.


"OXYGEN ON TITAN

Small amounts of both oxygen and carbon dioxide have been found in Titan's atmosphere. However, it is thought that it would be too difficult to separate out efficient quantities of oxygen for breathable air and they still could not be used as a fuel. "


I hope this clears up any misunderstanding of my posting. If anyone wants to read the whole thing I will post it. Just let me know.

B

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

This image of Titan and the exaggerated-false color of the atmosphere is going around the net now, but I think it's rather cool.

(Jul 30, 2004) This image of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, was taken on July 3, one day after NASA's Cassini spacecraft made its closest approach. The image shows two thin layers of atmospheric haze that enshroud the moon (they've been brightened and made purple to enhance their visibility). Cassini used its ultraviolet light filter to take this photograph, as it's sensitive to the small haze particles that make up the atmosphere.

More here: www.universetoday.com/am/publish/titans_purple_haze.html?3072004

Titan is indeed a world upon itself. I wonder what surprizes are in store for us.

Courtesy of Universe Today

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Flowing Liquid on Titan

I think it's just wild that we are seeing flowing liquid on Titan.

It is speculated that the liquid is Methane, but what if thermal temps made it possible for liquid water to flow.

Quite cool.

[starbux]

Chicago said:

Flowing Liquid on Titan

I think it's just wild that we are seeing flowing liquid on Titan.

It is speculated that the liquid is Methane, but what if thermal temps made it possible for liquid water to flow.

Quite cool.

Titan is in a strange situation. While there is a semblance of a greenhouse effect because of the atmosphere, the data returned has indicated that the temperature is still far too cold for water ice to melt. Ethane or methane or something similar is most likely. Remember that Titan is smaller than Ganymede and only about the size of Mercury. If temperatures were high enough to allow liquid water, it is thought that the atmosphere would escape Titan's weak gravity.

If they ever send another lander to Titan I hope they can get a nice (color!) shot of Saturn peering thru a break in the clouds, like in the old Chesley Bonestell or David Hardy paintings. That would be awesome!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I am a great fan of Bonestell's space art. If you notice on his depiction of Saturn rise on Titan, there appears to be snow-like accumulations on the ground and peaks. Methane snow?

How jaded the small mind of man in general is. After seeing a Saturn rise a few times, most would get bored and not bother to view it.

It's a wonder we are not still in caves...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Organics in Titan's Atmosphere

Titan's atmospheric winds, temperature and mixing have been revealed by new observations from the Cassini spacecraft. The thick atmosphere of Saturn's giant moon is rich in organic compounds, whose chemistry may be similar to that which occurred on Earth before the emergence of life.

"Titan is not just a dot in the sky; these new observations show that Titan is a rich, complex world much like the Earth in some ways," said Dr. Michael Flasar, the Composite Infrared Spectrometer instrument (CIRS) principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Flasar is lead author of a paper on this research published May 13 in the Journal Science.

Full story here on Astrobiology Magazine: www.astrobio.net/news/article1558.html

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Organic compounds Identified around Titan...I'm sure the universe abounds with the stuff!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

NASA's Cassini Reveals Lake-Like Feature on Titan

Scientists are fascinated by a dark, lake-like feature recently observed on Saturn's moon Titan. NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured a series of images showing a marking, darker than anything else around it. It is remarkably lake-like, with smooth, shore-like boundaries unlike any seen previously on Titan.

"I'd say this is definitely the best candidate we've seen so far for a liquid hydrocarbon lake on Titan," said Dr. Alfred McEwen, Cassini imaging team member and a professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson. The suspected lake area measures 234 kilometers long by 73 kilometers wide (145 miles by 45 miles), about the size of Lake Ontario, on the U.S. Canadian border.

"This feature is unique in our exploration of Titan so far," said Dr. Elizabeth Turtle, Cassini imaging team associate at the University of Arizona. "Its perimeter is intriguingly reminiscent of the shorelines of lakes on Earth that are smoothed by water erosion and deposition."

More here: www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=17272
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Good fishing hole.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Strange White Streak on Titan

(Jul 15, 2005) During a recent flyby of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, NASA's Cassini spacecraft got a good look at the bright Xanadu region - where the Huygens probe landed earlier this year. One unusual feature is the strange bright line, which scientists are calling the "smile". This 560 km (345 mile) long feature is quite bright in several of Cassini's instruments; in both visible and infrared wavelengths. It's exact nature is still unknown, so scientists will continue to gather evidence from future flybys.
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It looks like a cloud formation to me. A methane cloud.

[starbux]

Thanks for the update. Titan will remain the most interesting place in the Saturn system. Keep letting us know when there is a new flyby!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

If it were not orbiting Saturn, it would certainly make a pretty decent planet of it's own merits.

I vote for Titan as the 10th planet, screw Sedna!...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Naming Landmarks on Titan

(Nov 7, 2005) Cassini's latest flyby of Titan on October 28, 2005 took it directly over Huygen's landing site, allowing scientists to match up images from the two spacecraft. This mosaic was created from 10 images taken by Cassini as it swept past Titan. The view gives a resolution of 1 km (0.6 miles) per pixel, and has been labeled with names that imaging scientists have been devising.

Full story here: www.universetoday.com/am/publish/naming_landmarks_titan.html?7112005

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Where's Chicago Astronomer Plateau?

[starbux]

NASA Cassini Image: An Infrared Movie of Titan
STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Sunday, February 12, 2006
Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

This movie of Titan shows data taken with Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer during the last three flybys of Titan. The flybys took place on Oct. 28, 2005, Dec. 26, 2005, and Jan. 15, 2006.

These false-color images were taken at wavelengths of 1.6 microns shown in blue, 2.01 microns in green and 5 microns in red.



The viewing geometry of the December flyby is roughly on the opposite hemispheres of the flybys in October and January. There are several important features shown by the movie. First, the globe of Titan exhibits two major types of terrain. One is very bright, and a darker one seems to be concentrated near the equator. Titan also has two very bright regions, the large one known as Tui Reggio, and the other as Hotei Arcus. These regions are thought to be surface deposits, probably of volcanic origin, and may be water and/or carbon dioxide frozen from the vapor. The December flyby data show that the western margins of Tui Reggio have a complex flow-like structure consistent with eruptive phenomena. The reddish feature at the south pole is Titan¿s south polar cloud system, which was very bright during the December flyby. During the October and January flybys it is barely visible, indicating that the atmosphere over titan's south pole is very dynamic.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu.

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Lost lakes of Titan are found at last

Titan has long intrigued space scientists, as it is the only moon in the Solar System to have a dense atmosphere -- and its atmosphere, like Earth's, mainly comprises nitrogen.

Titan's atmosphere is also rich in methane, although the source for this vast store of hydrocarbons is unclear.

Methane, on the geological scale, has a relatively limited life. A molecule of the compound lasts several tens of millions of years before it is broken up by sunlight.

Given that Titan is billions of years old, the question is how this atmospheric methane gets to be renewed. Without replenishment, it should have disappeared long ago. A popular hypothesis is that it comes from a vast ocean of hydrocarbons.

But when the US spacecraft Cassini sent down a European lander, Huygens, to Titan in 2005, the images sent back were of a rugged landscape veiled in an orange haze.

There were indeed signs of methane flows and methane precipitation, but nothing at all that pointed to any sea of the stuff.

But a flyby by Cassini on July 22 last year has revealed, thanks to a radar scan, 75 large, smooth, dark patches between three and 70 kilometers across (two and 42 miles) across that appear to be lakes of liquid methane, scientists report on Thursday.

They believe the lakes prove that Titan has a "methane cycle" -- a system that is like the water cycle on Earth, in which the liquid evaporates, cools and condenses and then falls as rain, replenishing the surface liquid.

Some of the methane lakes seem only partly filled, and other depressions are dry, which suggests that, given the high northerly latitudes where they were spotted, the methane cycle follows Titan's seasons.

In winter, the lakes expand, while in summer, they shrink or dry up completely -- again, another parallel with Earth's hydrological cycle.

"Indeed, as far as we know," Sotin added, "there is only one planetary body that displays more dynamism than Titan. Its name is Earth."

Source: www.physorg.com/news87055396.html

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Wouldn't it be interesting if, due to internal geological forces, that these lakes turn out to be water.