Loading...
Please wait, while we are loading the content...
Similar Documents
Liquid hydrocarbons on titan's surface? how cassini iss observations fit into the story (so far)
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Porco, C. C. West, R. A. Ewen, A. S. Hardegree-Ullman, E. Turtle, E. P. Perry, J. Fussner, S. Dawson, D. D. |
| Copyright Year | 2005 |
| Description | Titan is the only satellite in our Solar System with a substantial atmosphere, the origins and evolution of which are still not well understood. Its primary (greater than 90%) component is nitrogen, with a few percent methane and lesser amounts of other species. Methane and ethane are stable in the liquid state under the temperature and pressure conditions in Titan s lower atmosphere and at the surface; indeed, clouds, likely composed of methane, have been detected. Photochemical processes acting in the atmosphere convert methane into more complex hydrocarbons, creating Titan s haze and destroying methane over relatively short timescales. Therefore, it has been hypothesized that Titan s surface has reservoirs of liquid methane which serve to resupply the atmosphere. Early observations of Titan s surface revealed albedo patterns which have been interpreted as dark hydrocarbon liquids occupying topographically low regions between higher-standing exposures of bright, water-ice bedrock, although this is far from being the only explanation for the observed albedo contrast. Observations made by the Imaging Science Subsystem during Cassini's approach to Saturn and its first encounters with Titan show the bright and dark regions in greater detail but have yet to resolve the question of whether there are liquids on the surface. |
| File Size | 128632 |
| Page Count | 2 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20050176457 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t40s4r089 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2005-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration Water Cassini Mission International Space Station Liquids Albedo Atmospheric Temperature Liquefied Gases Hydrocarbons Satellite Surfaces Titan Atmosphere Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
