Updated Titan Map |
Updated Titan Map |
Dec 21 2006, 04:12 PM
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#31
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Hmmm... not *all* of the worlds in that range, since Venus and Earth are of near-identical size and mass. Earth has a lot of tectonic activity, but its shattered crust seems to exert more control over the orientation of rifts and crustal cracking than whatever it is on these other worlds that causes equatorial tectonics. -the other Doug Yeah, but Earth is *slightly* out of the Titan-to-Venus size range... To address Juramike's post, it's unclear why Venus and Earth have evolved so differently, but one suggestion is that Earth's ocean is a critical difference, because metamorphic rock formed when lava meets water is inherently lighter and softer than that formed when lava erupts onto a solid surface. As small as the ocean is compared to the bulk of the mantle below it, that may change everything, creating soft, light continental plates that form on top of the heavier slabs of ocean crust. It's clear that Earth tends to dispose of its inner heat via horizontal movement of its crust while on Venus convection is more vertical. Earth lets a little heat out all the time whereas Venus seems to have rare global meltdowns when the crustal lid gets too much heat built up underneath it. The ocean difference is a plausible explanation. Because Earth's heat dissipation involves the horizontal displacement of crust, "aboriginal" patterns have been obliterating by the wandering of plates, whereas on Mars, Ganymede, and possibly Titan, some of the ancient crustal landmasses are still there relatively intact with some considerable tectonism having reworked large portions of the surface. Venus's case is different: The surface there is "ancient", but only about 700 million years old, showing the scars formed since then. The oldest surfaces of Mars and Ganymede are very roughly 3.5 and 4 billion years old, respectively. As for Titan, that's not clear, but there is more than just geology going on there, so on the small scale, we can't expect anything ancient. However, the large scale features (Xanadu, Tsegihi, etc.) may be quite old, and my bet is that they are, simply because Titan's large-scale features look more like Mars's than Earth's. |
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Dec 28 2006, 07:24 PM
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#32
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 73 Joined: 14-June 05 From: Cambridge, MA Member No.: 411 |
Please, please, please, can we have an updated map?
- John Sheff Cambridge, MA |
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Dec 28 2006, 07:56 PM
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#33
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Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 3242 Joined: 11-February 04 From: Tucson, AZ Member No.: 23 |
Please, please, please, can we have an updated map? - John Sheff Cambridge, MA Patience, it's not the end of the year yet. -------------------- &@^^!% Jim! I'm a geologist, not a physicist!
The Gish Bar Times - A Blog all about Jupiter's Moon Io |
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Dec 28 2006, 08:05 PM
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#34
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Member Group: Members Posts: 428 Joined: 21-August 06 From: Northern Virginia Member No.: 1062 |
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Dec 28 2006, 08:09 PM
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#35
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
Are you going to release the same map that you showed me once upon a time? Just curious, that's all. Now see, THAT is not fair. You could have easily PM-ed him asking the same thing, but you wanted to "subtly" let the rest of us know you've seen the map as well. Not being a very good sport. -------------------- |
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Dec 28 2006, 08:15 PM
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#36
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Member Group: Members Posts: 428 Joined: 21-August 06 From: Northern Virginia Member No.: 1062 |
Now see, THAT is not fair. You could have easily PM-ed him asking the same thing, but you wanted to "subtly" let the rest of us know you've seen the map as well. Not being a very good sport. Actually, I could have waited for a few hours until he shows up here and ask him in person (We work in the same room and share an office that neither of us uses), but... It happens though when you share a room, he shows me pictures of Titan, Mimas, and the other Saturnian moons before they are released to the general public, while I show him pictures of Vikings, MER rovers, cool Martian geography, etc before it's released. It's all a fair trade, just so long as neither of us takes the pictures of the other, but merely looks at them, it's fair enough. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the map that will be released will be somewhat different, but... There's been a few flybys since that map was created, and there's been some names that have become official that weren't beforehand. |
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Dec 28 2006, 08:23 PM
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#37
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
I'm perfectly aware you work near each other and are bound to see each others' work before the rest of us get to see it. I still feel that post of yours was more about rubbing our noses than anything else.
Just my 2c. -------------------- |
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Guest_AlexBlackwell_* |
Dec 28 2006, 08:36 PM
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#38
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Guests |
I'm perfectly aware you work near each other and are bound to see each others' work before the rest of us get to see it. I still feel that post of yours was more about rubbing our noses than anything else. Just my 2c. Hey, Gordan, it could have been worse: tuvas could have teased you with images of Jason showing him the map. With the back of the map facing the camera, natch. |
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Dec 28 2006, 08:53 PM
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#39
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
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Dec 28 2006, 08:57 PM
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#40
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Member Group: Members Posts: 428 Joined: 21-August 06 From: Northern Virginia Member No.: 1062 |
Hey, Gordan, it could have been worse: tuvas could have teased you with images of Jason showing him the map. With the back of the map facing the camera, natch. Hey, those images were released only a few hours later to the general public, so... |
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Dec 28 2006, 09:21 PM
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#41
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
Brilliant, Stu! Brilliant!
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Dec 28 2006, 10:41 PM
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#42
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1887 Joined: 20-November 04 From: Iowa Member No.: 110 |
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Dec 28 2006, 10:47 PM
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#43
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
End of year in 78 hours 19 minutes. Actually, if we consider there's only one working day left this year, that End-Of-Year might be as well be tomorrow. -------------------- |
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Dec 28 2006, 11:45 PM
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#44
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2488 Joined: 17-April 05 From: Glasgow, Scotland, UK Member No.: 239 |
I'm perfectly aware you work near each other and are bound to see each others' work before the rest of us get to see it. I still feel that post of yours was more about rubbing our noses than anything else. Just my 2c. My nose may be polished anytime; I look forward to more information, however slowly it has to appear, and enjoy the sense of antici... ... ... (say it!) ... ... ...pation! Bob 'Rocky' Shaw -------------------- Remember: Time Flies like the wind - but Fruit Flies like bananas!
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Dec 29 2006, 12:15 AM
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#45
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1276 Joined: 25-November 04 Member No.: 114 |
Wow cutie in the front!
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