Does Titan Have Oily Oceans?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter Ivan Seeking
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Titan
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the possibility of Titan, Saturn's major moon, having a surface covered with oily lakes or oceans, particularly focusing on the implications for the Huygens probe's landing and data collection capabilities. The scope includes theoretical considerations, technical specifications of the probe, and anticipatory remarks about upcoming missions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that Titan may have a surface of oily lakes or oceans based on radar research.
  • There are questions about whether the Huygens probe will be able to send back useful data if it lands in liquid, with concerns about the probe potentially sinking.
  • One participant notes that the Huygens probe was designed with the expectation that it might land in liquid, indicating it is built to float and right itself to transmit data.
  • Details about the Huygens probe's mission are shared, including its instruments and the planned measurements during its descent and after landing.
  • Some scientists theorize that Titan's surface could be covered by lakes or oceans of methane or ethane, which informs the design of the Huygens probe.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of anticipation and uncertainty regarding the Huygens probe's landing on Titan, with no consensus on the nature of Titan's surface or the probe's fate upon landing.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the probe's design and the nature of Titan's surface, which remain unresolved. There is also a temporal aspect regarding the wait for the probe's findings in January 2005.

Ivan Seeking
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
Messages
8,252
Reaction score
2,664
Astronomy news on Phys.org
We should find out soon. :smile:

If the Huygens probe lands on one of these 'oceans' will it affect the ability of the probe to send back useful data? Or could the probe sink without trace?
 
It was built with the assumption (hope?) that it might land in liquid. It's set up to float, right itself and send data from there.
 
Cassini arrives at Saturn in July 2004. I can't wait! (well, I suppose I have been waiting patiently for the past 6 years...a few more months should be ok)

from NASA's site...(emphasis mine)
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/MoreInfo/faq.shtml#faq8
The Huygens probe, supplied by the European Space Agency, carries a well-equipped robotic laboratory that it will use to scrutinize the clouds, atmosphere, and surface of Saturn's moon Titan. As the 2.7-meter-diameter (8.9-foot) probe enters the atmosphere it will begin taking measurements in the haze layer above the cloud tops. As it descends -- first on a main parachute and later on a drogue chute for stability -- various instruments will measure the temperature, pressure, density, and energy balance in the atmosphere.
As the Huygens probe breaks through the cloud deck, a camera will capture pictures of the Titan panorama. Instruments will also be used to study properties of Titan's surface remotely -- and perhaps directly, should the probe survive the landing.

Many scientists theorize that Titan may be covered by lakes or oceans of methane or ethane, so the Huygens probe is designed to function even if it lands in liquid. If the battery-powered probe survives its landing, it will relay measurements from Titan's surface until the Cassini orbiter flies beyond the horizon and out of radio contact.

Guess I got to wait until Jan 2005 before we find out about Titan though (according to the BBC article in the OP).
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Similar threads

Undergrad Disappearing lakes on Titan - seasonal cycles
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Undergrad Life on Neptune: Could Its Ocean Support Complex Life?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
5K
Graduate What keeps Rhea stable? Simulation shows Titan-assist escape
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
Undergrad Why Does Titan Have Fewer Impact Craters?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
6K
Undergrad Atmospheric escape parametre statistics
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Closest Image of Titan: Atmosphere Revealed
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Graduate What Causes the Bright Streaks on Saturn's Moon Titan?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
6K
Undergrad Nature paper on Moon's initial evolution - Tidally driven remelting
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Undergrad What Will Huygens Discover About Titan's Mysterious Atmosphere?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Undergrad Could fast radio bursts be alien radar signals?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K