Titanium

© Vladimir Kalanov,
website"Knowledge is power".

Dozens of satellites revolve around Saturn. Currently, 53 named satellites are known; about a dozen celestial bodies are “awaiting” confirmation of their flight trajectories for involvement in the satellite system of Saturn. Among them, the largest satellite stands out - Titan, discovered, as is known, already in 1655 by Christian Huygens. In terms of size, Titan ranks second among all the satellites of the Solar System, second only to Ganymede, a satellite of Jupiter. The diameter of Titan is 5150 km, i.e. This satellite is larger in size than the planet Mercury, whose diameter is 4878 km. Titan's orbital period around Saturn is almost 16 days (15 days, 22 hours and 41 minutes). Titan is turned to Saturn on one side, like the Moon to Earth. Titan moves in its orbit at a distance of 1,221,900 km from Saturn.

Internal structure of Titan

Titan is of great interest not only to astronomers, but also to biologists, geologists and paleoclimatologists. But all of them are interested not only and not so much in the size of Titan and the parameters of its orbit, as in the atmosphere and surface of this satellite.

Titan is the only satellite in the solar system that has an atmosphere. The density of Titan's atmosphere is significantly higher than the density of the Earth's atmosphere, so the pressure at the surface of Titan is one and a half times (1.5 bar) higher than the Earth's. The temperature on the surface of the satellite ranges from 90 to 100 K. The atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen (90-97%), methane (2-5%) and argon (about 0-6%) are also present, there are traces of ethane, hydrogen ( 0.2%) and carbon dioxide. The presence of methane was determined already in 1944 using infrared spectrometry.

The surface of Titan is covered with clouds. In images transmitted by Voyager 1 in 1980, the clouds are predominantly orange in color. This means the presence of organic molecules in them, which is quite understandable given the presence of methane in the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas, and clouds containing methane cover Titan's surface. Visual observations of Titan are very difficult. Some researchers have suggested that cold reigns only in the outer layers of the atmosphere, and there may be other conditions on the surface, including those under which protein life is possible.

There was an assumption about the similarity of the titanic atmosphere with the atmosphere that previously existed on Earth. This assumption had a certain basis, because in the modern atmosphere of the Earth, as in the atmosphere of Titan, the main component is molecular nitrogen.

The Mystery of Titan's Surface

Panoramic view of the surface of Titan from the Huygens spacecraft

The mystery of Titan's surface has haunted scientists. Astronomers and, especially, biologists and paleoclimatologists wanted to know more about the celestial body on which (what if!) protein life could be discovered. What is there, under the layer of clouds: the ocean or a solid surface? If it is an ocean, then what is it filled with - water? ethane? There was not long to wait for answers to these questions. In 1997, NASA, together with the European Space Agency, completed the development of the Cassini-Huygens project and the Cassini interplanetary probe with the Huygens atmospheric probe launched towards Titan. In July 2004, the Huygens probe separated from the Cassini spacecraft, entered Titan's cloudy atmosphere and landed on its surface. The information that the Huygens probe transmitted to Earth left no chance for researchers who dreamed of finding at least traces of biological activity on Titan. Once again we are convinced that in the Solar system, and perhaps in our entire Galaxy and even in thousands of such galaxies, life does not exist anywhere except our beautiful small planet Earth. The surface of Titan, like its atmosphere, turned out to be exceptionally cold, with an average surface temperature of minus 178°C. There are many lakes on its surface, but they are naturally not filled with water; perhaps they are compounds of methane or ethane with other substances.

The study of Titan continues. To date, more than 60% of Titan's surface has been mapped. Lakes occupy about 14% of the total studied area. The density of Titan's substance (a mixture of rock and ice) is about 1.88 g/cm³, which is the highest density among Saturn's moons. Titan accounts for more than 95% of the mass of all Saturn's moons. Titan's mass is 1.345 × 10 23 kg.

The acceleration of gravity is 1.352 (m/s²), i.e. gravity is about seven times less than on Earth.
© Vladimir Kalanov,

"Knowledge is power"

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Sometimes our blue Earth is called an ocean planet. But this name corresponds to a greater extent to Saturn’s rather interesting satellite Titan. Water was discovered on it, covering its surface with an endless ocean. Perhaps it is there that now, under the orange atmosphere and under a thick icy crust, in the depths of cold waters, life is emerging?

Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system, with a diameter of 5,152 kilometers. Only Jupiter's moon Ganymede (diameter 5268 kilometers) exceeds it in size. Titan orbits Saturn in a slightly elliptical orbit, and its orbit itself passes behind the giant planet's famous rings. This interesting satellite of Saturn was discovered by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in 1655, and the name “Titan” became generally known and accepted only in 1847, when an article was published by John Herschel, who proposed this name for the largest satellite of Saturn.

Like our Moon, Titan exhibits the phenomenon of synchronous rotation relative to Saturn, that is, it always faces the planet with one side. It goes around the giant in 15 days, 22 hours and 41 minutes, making exactly one revolution around its axis of rotation. This time balance occurs due to tidal phenomena that occur on the satellite due to gravitational forces.

The Cassini mission flew past Titan six times and examined it in detail from 2006 to 2011. The shape of the satellite's surface changed as it passed through its orbit - since the orbit is elliptical, at the moments of its minimum approach to Saturn, Titan became slightly "elongated" due to tidal humps, and at the maximum distance - almost spherical. At the same time, tidal humps, changing the diameter of the satellite, increased it by almost 10 meters! This means that under the hard bark there is an easily movable layer.

Most likely, this is water, and a whole “titanic” ocean! It can be enormously deep and extend up to 200 kilometers deep from a “crust” 50 kilometers thick. Manifestations of volcanism may be sources of methane, found in large quantities in the upper atmosphere of the satellite.

This should lead to a greenhouse effect and an increase in temperature in the satellite’s atmosphere. But in the lower layers there is a thick orange fog consisting of organic molecules, and it absorbs solar radiation well and releases infrared radiation from the surface. This "anti-greenhouse" effect cools Titan's surface by about 10 degrees.

The climate of Titan is a real puzzle for climate scientists. What is the role of methane, a satellite of oil fields on Earth, in the formation of “titanic” weather? It is assumed that seas of this liquefied gas can sway on its icy “crust”, evaporate and condense into clouds, and rain methane onto the surface.

However, this methane cycle in the satellite's atmosphere must be replenished from deep sources (similar to the water cycle on Earth). It should be noted that methane is a volatile and unstable chemical compound, which is why numerous variants of organic molecules have been discovered in the atmosphere. The Huygens lander made it possible to create a model of the circulation of Titan's atmosphere. However, not all the mysteries of the mysterious Satellite of Saturn have been solved - many of them are still waiting for those who can give comprehensive answers to them.

An area similar in its geological structure to the surface of the Earth on Titan was first discovered in 1994 using the Hubble orbital telescope. But it was impossible to examine it in detail then. And on October 15, 1997, the American interplanetary station Cassini launched towards Saturn, whose satellite is Titan.

On January 14, 2005, having separated from the Cassini station, the Huygens lander entered Titan's dense atmosphere. And the station itself, both in 2005 and 2007, transmitted images of the surface of Saturn’s satellite to the control center.
The photographs received from the station made a great impression on scientists. The photographs of the area called Fensal were very reminiscent of the earth's Kalahari Desert. And the area called Belet is the Rub al-Khali desert in Oman. The dunes are about 100 meters high, one to two kilometers wide, and hundreds of kilometers long. Not far from Titan's north pole, large lakes connected by canals were clearly visible. You can even see how something flows through the channels. The terrain was strikingly similar to Canada, Finland or Karelia. A large river similar to the Egyptian Nile was also discovered. It is about 400 kilometers long and flows into the sea. This is the first extraterrestrial river discovered in the solar system. And Titan is the first extraterrestrial world to have some kind of liquid on its surface. Titan's similarity to Earth is complemented by the fact that it has a dense atmosphere in which clouds float, fog forms and it rains. It is thanks to the presence of the atmosphere that the satellite of Jupiter has always aroused the interest of astronomers. The presence of an atmosphere was discovered in 1944 by American astronomer Gerard Kuiper. And 95 percent of it consists of nitrogen. There is practically no oxygen in it. And Titan's size is impressive, second only to Saturn's moon Ganymede. And on Titan, like on Earth, there are seasons. Despite the similarity between photographs of Titan's surface and the Earth's landscape, there are significant differences between Titan and Earth. The temperature of the mysterious satellite of Saturn differs from the earth's by 100, and in some areas by 200 degrees. With a minus sign. That is why it is not water that flows in its lakes and canals. These are liquid carbohydrates consisting of a mixture of methane and ethane. A more precisely, from 80 percent ethane, 10 percent methane and approximately 8 percent propane. The remaining 2 percent comes from butene, butane and acetylene. Simply put, Titan is a natural storage facility for liquefied gas. And, it seems, the largest in the solar system. Just a blue dream of all gas producing companies. The total reserves of hydrocarbon fuel on Titan are several times greater than those of our planet. He transmitted the images to Earth and the Huygens lander. Pebbles and large stones came into the frame. Some of them reach a diameter of about two meters. And their surface seems to be polished. Scientists have suggested that the stones may consist of ordinary water mixed with ammonia. At a temperature of about minus 180 degrees, water acquires extraordinary strength. An explanation has also been found for the “sand” that fills the local deserts. It may represent frozen hydrocarbons falling out of the atmosphere. According to earthly concepts, this is, rather, not “sand”, but “snow”. Despite its external resemblance to our planet, intelligent life is unlikely to be possible on Titan. Almost two hundred degree frosts greatly impede the formation and development of highly organized life forms. But the simplest life can exist on it. In 2010, a NASA team announced that they had discovered clear signs of simple life forms on Titan. Just not the usual oxygen-hydrogen, but methane-hydrogen. Subsequently, this statement was not confirmed, but this possibility cannot be completely ruled out. Biologists cannot give a definite answer to the question about the possibility of life existing at a temperature of about minus 180 degrees. That is why they answer evasively that such creatures are not yet known to our science. True, one researcher from NASA, Chris McKay, admits the existence of life on Titan, which may well use the oxygen found in Titan's atmosphere is hydrogen. Only, if we manage to find life on a satellite of Saturn, it is unlikely to be similar to anything we know. A hypothesis has also been put forward that under a hundred-kilometer layer of ice there may be an ocean made of a mixture of water and ammonia. In which the existence of new, unknown to us forms of life is possible. The expected operating life of the Cassini station was four years. Then it was extended until 2010. Then until 2017. It appears that both Saturn and Titan continue to be of some interest to researchers.

Total information

Titan's diameter is 5152 km, making it larger than the Moon in diameter by approximately 50%. Christiaan Huygens, a famous Dutch physicist, mechanic, mathematician and astronomer, discovered Titan as the first moon of Saturn in 1655.

Astronomers for a long time believed that its diameter was 5550 km, and it ranked first. The true dimensions were found out later thanks to the Voyager 1 spacecraft.

The surface of this huge moon

Until 2004, scientists did not know what the surface of this unknown celestial body looked like, because... Titan, a satellite of Saturn, was completely enveloped in an incredibly dense envelope of atmosphere, making it difficult to study. But after the Cassini-Huygens apparatus landed on its surface, all questions were resolved.

What we now know is that its surface is still quite young by geological standards, and is covered by sedimentary organic matter and water ice. It is almost all flat, except for a few mountains and craters. The surface temperature is 170-180°C below zero. The atmosphere is mainly composed of nitrogen, some ethane and methane.

The hydrocarbon sea of ​​Ligeia is the second largest, Cassini radar survey

Significant areas of the surface are covered by ethane-methane rivers and lakes. Scientists discovered liquid on this celestial body and proved the presence of an atmosphere, as a result of which a hypothesis was presented that a primitive form of life could exist on Titan.

physical characteristics

A 95% share of the total mass of all satellites surrounding Saturn belongs to Titan. Disputes about where such a huge satellite came from have led to several theories, but scientists have not yet come to a final answer. One theory is as follows: this celestial body could have been formed from a dust cloud, which was subsequently captured by the planet’s gravity. Moreover, this theory also explains such a large difference in the mass of the satellites.

Orbit of movement

The second largest moon in the solar system has an orbit of 1,221,870 km, which is equal to 20.3 Saturn's radii, placing it outside the rings of Saturn. It makes one full circle around the planet in almost 16 days. Moreover, its speed is 5.57 kilometers per second.

Titan, like the Moon, rotates synchronously around its planet. It is precisely because Titan’s revolutions around Saturn and around its own axis coincide that it always looks at the planet from the same side. The rotation trajectory of Saturn is inclined relative to the ecliptic by 26.73′, it is this moment that ensures the change of seasons on the planet itself and its satellites.

Each season lasts approximately 7.5 Earth years, while Saturn itself makes one revolution around the Sun in about 30 years. Based on this, we can assume that the last summer on Titan ended in 2009.

And finally, some of the most spectacular photos of Titan

Of particular interest to solar system researchers is Saturn's largest moon, Titan. It is one of the largest satellites of the planets. According to Voyager data, Titan's diameter is 5150 km. In its size and mass, it is slightly inferior only to Jupiter’s satellite Ganymede and is approximately 2 times larger than our Moon.

Titan is the only satellite with a thick atmosphere. It was also known from ground-based observations that methane was present in its atmosphere. Spectral observations carried out by Voyager 1 confirmed the presence of methane, but at the same time showed that its content in the atmosphere is small - about 1%, while 85% of the atmosphere consists of nitrogen (mainly molecular) and 12% of inert argon. Hydrogen cyanide (HCM) - hydrocyanic acid (a very strong poison), as well as molecular hydrogen were found in small quantities.

The atmospheric pressure at the surface of Titan is approximately 1.5 times the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the Earth; the temperature is about -180 °C. This is close to the so-called triple point of methane, that is, the temperature at which it can exist simultaneously in a solid, liquid and gaseous state.

Probably, Titan's atmosphere is similar to the primary gaseous shells that Venus, Earth and Mars had at the dawn of their existence. But unlike these planets, the temperatures on Titan are so low that the atmosphere could remain in its original form. Consequently, its study could shed light on the problem of the development of planetary atmospheres. It is possible that, under the physical conditions that prevail on Titan, methane plays the same role there as water does on Earth. This means that under Titan's nitrogen sky, methane rivers can flow from methane glaciers, and methane rains can fall from clouds. The world of this satellite of Saturn is apparently extremely unique.

All satellites, except for the huge Titan, which is larger than Mercury and has an atmosphere, are composed mainly of ice (with some admixture of rocks at Mimas, Dione and Rhea). Enceladus is unique in its brightness - it reflects light almost like freshly fallen snow. The darkest surface is Phoebe, which is therefore almost invisible. The surface of Iapetus is unusual: its front (in the direction of movement) hemisphere is very different in reflectivity from the rear. Of all the large satellites of Saturn, only Hyperion has an irregular shape, perhaps due to a collision with a massive body, such as a giant icy meteorite. The surface of Hyperion is heavily polluted. The surfaces of many satellites are heavily cratered. Thus, the largest ten-kilometer crater was discovered on the surface of Dione; On the surface of Mimas lies a crater, the shaft of which is so high that it is clearly visible even in photographs. In addition to craters, on the surfaces of a number of satellites there are faults, grooves, and depressions. The greatest tectonic and volcanic activity was found near Enceladus.

Now every person knows that oil leaks, whether into the soil, river or ocean, threaten all living things. And as soon as this happens, special teams are urgently sent to the area of ​​​​ecological disaster to eliminate the source of pollution. But what we struggle with on Earth may constitute a normal natural environment, and perhaps even a habitat, on another planet. Indeed, in the vast Universe, planetary worlds may be completely different from one another. The forms of life on them can also be diverse. And what future space travelers will encounter there! But this is difficult to imagine even for desperate dreamers: seas of oil on the planet! It turns out that there may be planets whose continents are washed by oil seas. And not somewhere in the depths of the Galaxy, but in our own Solar System. Such an exotic celestial body could be Saturn's satellite Titan.

Unfortunately, even Voyagers could not see the surface of Titan due to the thick haze. And ground-based radar on the surface of Titan allegedly indicated that a hydrocarbon (oil!) ocean was splashing there...

In 2005, the Cassini space probe landed on Titan for the first time. The scientific foresight of scientists was largely justified. Titan is a truly amazing world of hydrocarbons - a world of methane, where methane can be found literally at every step. And although there was no global oil ocean on Titan, the presence of natural hydrocarbon basins is not excluded.