April 16, 2013 Titan, Saturn’s largest moon Image Credit: NOAA/NASA/ESA Titan is, with a diameter of 5,150 kilometers (3,200 miles), Saturn’s largest moon and the second largest moon in our Solar System (only Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is larger), roughly 50% larger than our own Moon and 80% more massive. Titan orbits Saturn at a distance [continue reading]
A new paper by scientists on NASA’s Cassini mission finds that blocks of hydrocarbon ice might decorate the surface of existing lakes and seas of liquid hydrocarbon on Saturn’s moon Titan. The presence of ice floes might explain some of the mixed readings Cassini has seen in the reflectivity of the surfaces of lakes [continue reading]
Among the oddities of the outer Solar System are the middle-sized moons of Saturn, a half-dozen icy bodies dwarfed by Saturn’s massive moon Titan. According to a new model for the origin of the Saturn system, these middle-sized moons were spawned during giant impacts in which several major satellites merged to form Titan. Saturn’s [continue reading]
ESA’s Huygens probe bounced, slid and wobbled its way to rest in the 10 seconds after touching down on Saturn’s moon, Titan, in January 2005, a new analysis reveals. The findings provide novel insight into the nature of the moon’s surface. Artist’s impression of the Huygens probe on the surface of Titan. After a [continue reading]
Detailed observations of Saturn’s moon Titan have now spanned 30 years, covering an entire solar orbit for this distant world. Dr Athena Coustenis from the Paris-Meudon Observatory in France has analysed data gathered over this time and has found that the changing seasons of Titan affect it more than previously thought. An artist’s impression [continue reading]
Humanity has landed a rover on Mars. Now, say scientists, it’s time to land a boat on Titan. This outlandish scenario could become reality, according to engineers presenting their proposals today (27 September 2012) at the European Planetary Science Congress. Paddle concept for TALISE probe. This rendering of the proposed TALISE probe shows one possible [continue reading]