Titan comprehensive

What is Titan?

Saturn's largest moon and the second largest moon in the solar system, larger than Mercury.

What makes Titan unique among all moons?

It is the only moon with a dense atmosphere, and the only object besides Earth with evidence of stable surface liquid.

What is Titan's atmosphere mainly composed of?

Largely nitrogen with methane clouds and traces of hydrocarbons.

What is Titan's surface temperature?

Approximately -180°C.

What is Titan's surface pressure compared to Earth?

150% of Earth's surface pressure.

Does Titan have a magnetic field?

No.

What liquid exists on Titan's surface instead of water?

Liquid methane and ethane.

Why is methane in Titan's atmosphere surprising?

UV radiation destroys methane within 50 million years, so it must be constantly replenished.

What is a cryovolcano?

An ice volcano that erupts volatiles such as water, ammonia, and methane instead of molten rock.

Does Titan have a greenhouse effect?

No, Voyager data confirmed no greenhouse effect and the surface is too cold for liquid water.

What is Titan's methane cycle analogous to?

Earth's water cycle.

What was the Cassini-Huygens mission?

A mission launched in 1997 that reached Saturn in 2004, with Cassini orbiting Saturn and Huygens probing Titan's atmosphere.

What type of spacecraft was the Huygens probe?

A lander that descended through Titan's atmosphere and landed on January 14, 2005.

What did Huygens find on Titan's surface?

A hard dry surface with rounded ice pebbles, possibly a dry stream bed carved by liquid methane.

Does Titan have a subsurface ocean?

Likely yes, a salty water ocean approximately 100 km beneath the ice.

Why can life probably not exist on Titan currently?

Too cold for liquid water, and oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen are in short supply.

How could Titan become habitable in the future?

During the Sun's red giant phase, its surface could warm enough for liquid water.

What is the Dragonfly mission?

A future NASA mission launching in 2028 to study prebiotic chemistry on Titan using a mass spectrometer.