Titan's topography, strange.... |
Titan's topography, strange.... |
Apr 12 2009, 12:44 PM
Post
#1
|
|
Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 2785 Joined: 10-November 06 From: Pasadena, CA Member No.: 1345 |
Recent article in Science by Zebker et al.:
Zebker et al. Science in press, "Size and Shape of Saturn's Moon Titan". doi: 10.1126/science.1168905 (published online April 2, 2009) Link to abstract (pay-for article): http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/1168905 Article on spaceref discusses this paper: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=27912 Figure 3 from the Science article is a global elevation map relative to barycenter. Key points of article:
"Xanadu seems to be systematically lower than other parts of the equatorial belt, and not uplifted like most mountainous areas on Earth." (quote from Fig. 3 caption in article) -Mike -------------------- Some higher resolution images available at my photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31678681@N07/
|
|
|
Jan 8 2013, 07:33 PM
Post
#2
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 204 Joined: 14-April 06 From: Seattle, WA Member No.: 745 |
I just saw this on the JPL web site:
Cassini Suggests Icing on a Lake Who would have imagined? Like them, I thought methane ice would sink: "Up to this point, Cassini scientists assumed that Titan lakes would not have floating ice, because solid methane is denser than liquid methane and would sink. But the new model considers the interaction between the lakes and the atmosphere, resulting in different mixtures of compositions, pockets of nitrogen gas, and changes in temperature." I am reminded of Haldane's quote that the "universe may not only be stranger than we imagine" ... though our imagination seems to be doing a good job of keeping up. I look forward to a discussion of this by the experts. Mods: I will let you decide if this needs its own topic. I guess it does relate to Titanian topography. |
|
|
Jan 9 2013, 07:00 PM
Post
#3
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
A meta-comment on the complexity of Titan's atmosphere, liquisphere, and crust. The dynamics of water ice formation (in general, e.g., on Earth) still contain considerable unknown complexity. Research on snowflake formation is ongoing, and how water in vessels of freeze when cooled is quite a complex topic. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect Given this, despite the fact that experiments on water freezing can be done easily and very cheaply, we may consider that Titan's weather, liquidynamics, and crustal evolution may likely be enormously complex, as it has multiple volatile species that undergo phase changes, whereas Earth has only one. The compounds on Titan dissolve in one another, undergo chemical interactions with one another, and this all may vary according to temperature, pressure, and UV radiation... It's mind boggling. We might observe 100 distinct locations on Titan, then be startled by what we find in location #101. I noticed that after living 20+ years in places with snowy winters on Earth I could still be surprised by the phenomena that arise under particular combinations of precipitation, thawing, and freezing. On Titan... I don't think we'll ever "hit bottom" when it comes to understanding all of the crazy things that might happen there. What happens when one condensate falls upon liquid... what happens if it happens at night... what happens at sunrise when one substance reaches dew point... even ten in situ missions aren't going to answer all these questions. |
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 8th June 2024 - 10:56 PM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |