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What will the Huygen's probe find on Titan?

AKAKBUCK said:
Like Methane.

(Or some other Hydrocarbon... Butane... Hexane...heptane... octane.. Propane... I apologize for not knowing theri specific properties off the top of my head)

I just looked it up. Methane liquefies at -260F, but not sure when it solidifies. Pressure also effects the what temperature chemicals change state. I am only guessing here, but I would imagine Titan has less pressure than Earth so it would change state at lower temps.
 
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Don't light a match, but I guess that would rely on there being oxygen to ignite it. How come they never find places like this on Star Trek?

It wouldn't be very sporting to just Freeze "Ensign Jones" without a good fighting chance would it?

Plus... Bones would freeze while attempting to say, "He's dead, Jim"

I just looked it up. Methane liquefies at -260F, but not sure when it solidifies.

Check the edit.
 
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Allright... well I was a couple degrees off.

Also.. the atmospheric pressue isue it important... have no idea what we're looking for as far as that goes on Titan.

You'd think it would be greater on Titan if there are a lot of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere along with the Nitrogen... since they are pretty heavy (Atomically)... and its pretty cold... so they'd stay pretty dense... dunno what the gravitational pull would be like.
 
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Hubbard,

Any idea how many atm's of pressure there are on Titan?

I just read recently that it is 1.5

Also, Titan receives 1/90 the sunlight of earth, at least at the atmospheric level. The methane reaction causes a permanent glow, however. (beats me how, i forget)
 
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AKAKBUCK said:
Allright... well I was a couple degrees off.

Also.. the atmospheric pressue isue it important... have no idea what we're looking for as far as that goes on Titan.

You'd think it would be greater on Titan if there are a lot of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere along with the Nitrogen... since they are pretty heavy (Atomically)... and its pretty cold... so they'd stay pretty dense... dunno what the gravitational pull would be like.


Man I love google, first hit: "Atmospheric pressure near Titan's surface is about 1.6 bars, 60 percent greater than Earth's. The atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, also the major constituent of Earth's atmosphere." This means that it'll be liquid for a larger range.

1 bar = 1 atm
 
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Spacecraft Landed in Mud on Saturn Moon


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FRANKFURT, Germany - A European spacecraft landed in mud when it hit the surface of Titan, a scientist said Tuesday, revealing animated pictures of the final feet of its descent to the moon of Saturn.

The latest pictures underline beliefs that the Huygens probe landed near a large body of liquid on Friday when it ended a seven-year mission by the European Space Agency to the previously untouched moon.

Another series of photos showed how Titan's hazy atmosphere gave way to a more solid, but clearly varied surface as the spacecraft tumbled and spun toward its final resting place.

"There wasn't even a glitch at impact. That landing was a lot friendlier than we had anticipated," said Charles See, a scientist who has been studying the images.

Images taken on descent, from about 12 miles right down to the surface, suggest the presence of liquid, possibly flowing through channels or washing over larger areas, said Marty Tomasko of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Titan is the first moon other than the Earth's to be explored. Scientists believe its atmosphere may be similar to that of the primordial Earth and studying it could provide clues to how life began.

Huygens was spun off from the Cassini mother ship on Dec. 24 before it began its 2 1/2-hour parachute descent on Friday, taking pictures and sampling the atmosphere before landing on Titan, where temperatures are estimated at 292 degrees below zero.

 
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