Journal ArticleDOI
The lakes of Titan
Ellen R. Stofan,Charles Elachi,Jonathan I. Lunine,R. D. Lorenz,Bryan Stiles,Karl L. Mitchell,Steven J. Ostro,Laurence A. Soderblom,Charles A. Wood,Howard A. Zebker,S. D. Wall,Michael Janssen,Randolph L. Kirk,Rosaly M. C. Lopes,Flora Paganelli,Jani Radebaugh,Lauren Wye,Y. Anderson,Matthew A. Allison,R. Boehmer,Philip S. Callahan,Pierre Encrenaz,E. Flamini,G. Francescetti,Yonggyu Gim,G. Hamilton,S. Hensley,William T. K. Johnson,K. Kelleher,Duane O. Muhleman,P. Paillou,Giovanni Picardi,Francesco Posa,L. Roth,Roberto Seu,S. Shaffer,S. Vetrella,Robert West +37 more
TLDR
These northern-hemisphere lakes constitute the strongest evidence yet that a condensable-liquid hydrological cycle is active in Titan’s surface and atmosphere, in which the lakes are filled through rainfall and/or intersection with the subsurface ‘liquid methane’ table.Abstract:
The surface of Saturn's haze-shrouded moon Titan has long been proposed to have oceans or lakes, on the basis of the stability of liquid methane at the surface1, 2 Initial visible3 and radar4, 5 imaging failed to find any evidence of an ocean, although abundant evidence was found that flowing liquids have existed on the surface5, 6 Here we provide definitive evidence for the presence of lakes on the surface of Titan, obtained during the Cassini Radar flyby of Titan on 22 July 2006 (T16) The radar imaging polewards of 70° north shows more than 75 circular to irregular radar-dark patches, in a region where liquid methane and ethane are expected to be abundant and stable on the surface2, 7 The radar-dark patches are interpreted as lakes on the basis of their very low radar reflectivity and morphological similarities to lakes, including associated channels and location in topographic depressions Some of the lakes do not completely fill the depressions in which they lie, and apparently dry depressions are present We interpret this to indicate that lakes are present in a number of states, including partly dry and liquid-filled These northern-hemisphere lakes constitute the strongest evidence yet that a condensable-liquid hydrological cycle is active in Titan's surface and atmosphere, in which the lakes are filled through rainfall and/or intersection with the subsurface 'liquid methane' tableread more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Hydrocarbon lakes on Titan: Distribution and interaction with a porous regolith
Alexander G. Hayes,Oded Aharonson,Philip S. Callahan,Charles Elachi,Yonggyu Gim,Randolph L. Kirk,Kevin W. Lewis,Rosaly M. C. Lopes,Ralph D. Lorenz,Jonathan I. Lunine,K. L. Mitchell,Giuseppe Mitri,Ellen R. Stofan,S. D. Wall +13 more
TL;DR: Hayes et al. as discussed by the authors used Huygens probe observations to derive the timescales for flow into and out of observed lakes, similar to seasonal cycles, and compared the time between collocated SAR observations in order to considertheroleofsubsurfacetransportinTitan’shydrologic cycle.
Journal ArticleDOI
The identification of liquid ethane in Titan’s Ontario Lacus
Robert H. Brown,L. A. Soderblom,Jason M. Soderblom,Roger N. Clark,Ralf Jaumann,Jason W. Barnes,Christophe Sotin,B. J. Buratti,Kevin H. Baines,P. D. Nicholson +9 more
TL;DR: Infrared spectroscopic data obtained by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) on board the Cassini spacecraft strongly indicate that ethane, probably in liquid solution with methane, nitrogen and other low-molecular-mass hydrocarbons, is contained within Titan’s Ontario Lacus.
Book
Atmospheric Evolution on Inhabited and Lifeless Worlds
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a survey of the current understanding of the atmospheric evolution and climate on Earth, on other rocky planets within our Solar System, and on planets far beyond.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rapid and extensive surface changes near Titan's equator: evidence of April showers.
Elizabeth P. Turtle,Jason Perry,Alexander G. Hayes,Ralph D. Lorenz,Jason W. Barnes,Alfred S. McEwen,Robert A. West,A. D. Del Genio,J. Barbara,Jonathan I. Lunine,E. L. Schaller,T. L. Ray,Rosaly M. C. Lopes,Ellen R. Stofan +13 more
TL;DR: The detection by Cassini's Imaging Science Subsystem of a large low-latitude cloud system early in Titan’s northern spring and extensive surface changes in the wake of this storm are reported, which suggests that the dry channels observed at Titan's low latitudes are carved by seasonal precipitation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dunes on Titan observed by Cassini Radar
Jani Radebaugh,Ralph D. Lorenz,Jonathan I. Lunine,S. D. Wall,G. Boubin,E. Reffet,Randolph L. Kirk,Rosaly M. C. Lopes,Ellen R. Stofan,Laurence A. Soderblom,Matthew A. Allison,M. A. Janssen,Philippe Paillou,Philip S. Callahan,Christopher Spencer +14 more
TL;DR: In this article, a large number of longitudinal dunes have been discovered by the Titan Radar Mapper on the surface of Titan and they are found mainly within ±30° of the equator in optically-, near-infrared-, and radar-dark regions, indicating a strong proportion of organics.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Photochemistry of the atmosphere of Titan: comparison between model and observations.
TL;DR: The photochemistry of simple molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms in the atmosphere of Titan has been investigated using updated chemical schemes and the authors' own estimates of a number of key rate coefficients, which satisfactorily accounts for the concentrations of minor species observed by the Voyager IRIS and UVS instruments.
Journal ArticleDOI
In situ measurements of the physical characteristics of Titan's environment
Marcello Fulchignoni,Francesca Ferri,Francesco Angrilli,Andrew J. Ball,Akiva Bar-Nun,M. A. Barucci,C. Bettanini,G. Bianchini,William J. Borucki,Giacomo Colombatti,M. Coradini,Athena Coustenis,Stefano Debei,Peter Falkner,Giulio Fanti,Enrico Flamini,V. Gaborit,R. Grard,Michel Hamelin,Ari-Matti Harri,B. Hathi,Irmgard Jernej,Mark Leese,A. Lehto,P. F. Lion Stoppato,J. J. López-Moreno,T. Mäkinen,J. A. M. McDonnell,Christopher P. McKay,Gregorio J. Molina-Cuberos,Fritz M. Neubauer,Valerio Pirronello,Rafael Rodrigo,Bortolino Saggin,Konrad Schwingenschuh,Alvin Seiff,Fernando Simões,Håkan Svedhem,Tetsuya Tokano,Martin C. Towner,R. Trautner,Paul Withers,Paul Withers,John C. Zarnecki +43 more
TL;DR: The temperature and density profiles, as determined by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument (HASI), from an altitude of 1,400 km down to the surface were higher than expected and the extent of atmospheric electricity was also hitherto unknown.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rain, winds and haze during the Huygens probe's descent to Titan's surface
Martin G. Tomasko,Brent A. Archinal,Tammy L. Becker,Bruno Bézard,M. Bushroe,M. Combes,D. Cook,Athena Coustenis,C. de Bergh,L. E. Dafoe,Lyn R. Doose,Sylvain Douté,A. Eibl,S. Engel,Fritz Gliem,B. Grieger,K. Holso,Elpitha Howington-Kraus,Erich Karkoschka,H. U. Keller,Randolph L. Kirk,R. Kramm,Michael Küppers,Peter Lanagan,E. Lellouch,Mark T. Lemmon,Jonathan I. Lunine,Jonathan I. Lunine,Elisabeth A. McFarlane,John E. Moores,G. M. Prout,Bashar Rizk,Mark R. Rosiek,P. Rueffer,Stefan Schröder,Bernard Schmitt,C. See,Paul S. Smith,Laurence A. Soderblom,Nicolas Thomas,Robert West +40 more
TL;DR: Spectra and high-resolution images obtained by the Huygens Probe Descent Imager/Spectral Radiometer instrument in Titan's atmosphere reveal the traces of once flowing liquid, and like Earth, the brighter highland regions show complex systems draining into flat, dark lowlands.
Journal ArticleDOI
Imaging of Titan from the Cassini spacecraft
Carolyn C. Porco,E. Baker,J. Barbara,K. Beurle,André Brahic,Joseph A. Burns,Sébastien Charnoz,Nicholas J. Cooper,D. D. Dawson,Anthony D. Del Genio,Tilmann Denk,Luke Dones,Ulyana A. Dyudina,Michael W. Evans,S. Fussner,Bernd Giese,Kevin R. Grazier,Paul Helfenstein,Andrew P. Ingersoll,Robert A. Jacobson,Torrence V. Johnson,Alfred S. McEwen,Carl D. Murray,Gerhard Neukum,William M. Owen,Jason Perry,Thomas Roatsch,Joseph N. Spitale,Steven W. Squyres,Peter C. Thomas,Matthew S. Tiscareno,Elizabeth P. Turtle,Ashwin R. Vasavada,Joseph Veverka,Roland Wagner,Robert West +35 more
TL;DR: Observations of Titan from the imaging science experiment onboard the Cassini spacecraft reveal intricate surface albedo features that suggest aeolian, tectonic and fluvial processes, and imply that substantial surface modification has occurred over Titan's history.
Journal ArticleDOI
Episodic outgassing as the origin of atmospheric methane on Titan
TL;DR: This work shows that episodic outgassing of methane stored as clathrate hydrates within an icy shell above an ammonia-enriched water ocean is the most likely explanation for Titan's atmospheric methane, and predicts that future fly-bys should reveal the existence of both a subsurface water ocean and a rocky core, and should detect more cryovolcanic edifices.
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Rain, winds and haze during the Huygens probe's descent to Titan's surface
Martin G. Tomasko,Brent A. Archinal,Tammy L. Becker,Bruno Bézard,M. Bushroe,M. Combes,D. Cook,Athena Coustenis,C. de Bergh,L. E. Dafoe,Lyn R. Doose,Sylvain Douté,A. Eibl,S. Engel,Fritz Gliem,B. Grieger,K. Holso,Elpitha Howington-Kraus,Erich Karkoschka,H. U. Keller,Randolph L. Kirk,R. Kramm,Michael Küppers,Peter Lanagan,E. Lellouch,Mark T. Lemmon,Jonathan I. Lunine,Jonathan I. Lunine,Elisabeth A. McFarlane,John E. Moores,G. M. Prout,Bashar Rizk,Mark R. Rosiek,P. Rueffer,Stefan Schröder,Bernard Schmitt,C. See,Paul S. Smith,Laurence A. Soderblom,Nicolas Thomas,Robert West +40 more
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