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The climate of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is similar in many respects to that of Earth, despite having a far lower surface temperature. Its thick atmosphere , methane rain, and possible cryovolcanism create an analogue, though with different materials, to the climatic changes undergone by Earth during the far shorter year of Earth.
Mosaic of three Huygens images of channel system on Titan. The possibility of hydrocarbon seas on Titan was first suggested based on Voyager 1 and 2 data that showed Titan to have a thick atmosphere of approximately the correct temperature and composition to support them, but direct evidence was not obtained until 1995 when data from Hubble and other observations suggested the existence of ...
The atmosphere of Titan is the dense layer of gases surrounding Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.Titan is the only natural satellite of a planet in the Solar System with an atmosphere that is denser than the atmosphere of Earth and is one of two moons with an atmosphere significant enough to drive weather (the other being the atmosphere of Triton). [4]
Huygens (/ ˈ h ɔɪ ɡ ən z / HOY-gənz) was an atmospheric entry robotic space probe that landed successfully on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005. Built and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), launched by NASA, it was part of the Cassini–Huygens mission and became the first spacecraft to land on Titan and the farthest landing from Earth a spacecraft has ever made. [3]
Temperature lag is when the temperature change of an astronomical body lags behind the change in radiation absorbed. This affects large bodies with atmospheres ...
This acts to reduce solar energy reaching the surface and lets infrared energy escape, cooling Titan's surface. Titan has both a greenhouse and an anti-greenhouse effect which compete with one another. The greenhouse effect warms Titan by 21 K while the anti-greenhouse effect cools Titan by 9 K, so the net warming is 12 K (= 21 K - 9 K). [3] [4]
So Titan's weather is expected to feature downpours of several meters (15–20 feet) causing flash floods, interspersed by decades or centuries of drought (whereas typical weather on Earth includes a little rain most weeks). [43] Cassini has observed equatorial rainstorms only once since 2004.
Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan in 1655.. The Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan on March 25, 1655. [16] [17] [18] Fascinated by Galileo's 1610 discovery of Jupiter's four largest moons and his advancements in telescope technology, Huygens, with the help of his elder brother Constantijn Huygens Jr., began building telescopes around 1650 and discovered the first observed ...