Unveiling the mysteries of Saturn's moon Titan
Unveiling the mysteries of Saturn's moon Titan
Overview of the Cassini spacecraft's investigation of Saturn's moon Titan.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
With its mysterious rings and moons, the Saturn system has long fascinated scientists and astronomers.
Particularly interesting is Titan--the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere--an Earth-like atmosphere!
But its clouds are so thick that it’s impossible to see the surface.
So, how did scientists learn about this obscure moon that is more than a billion kilometers away? From 1997 to 2017, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft investigated the Saturn system.
Cassini used electromagnetic waves to communicate with Earth.
Through a radio science subsystem, it sent radio waves of three different wavelengths through Titan’s atmosphere and on toward Earth. Some of those waves reflected from Titan’s surface.
Others refracted through its atmosphere before traveling to Earth.
Because the waves were transmitted in three different frequencies, each one would reflect or refract at different angles depending on what medium it encountered. On Earth, the properties of the waves were recorded by receiver antennas.
Scientists at NASA then compared the received wave properties to the original ones transmitted by Cassini.
They analyzed the differences in the radio waves to interpret what actually exists in the atmosphere and on the surface of Titan.
And discovered:
propylene and cyanide in the atmosphere;
equatorial dunes;
polar seas and lakes;
and even underground oceans!
Titan’s properties were revealed to be more Earth-like than anywhere else in the solar system so far!
Particularly interesting is Titan--the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere--an Earth-like atmosphere!
But its clouds are so thick that it’s impossible to see the surface.
So, how did scientists learn about this obscure moon that is more than a billion kilometers away? From 1997 to 2017, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft investigated the Saturn system.
Cassini used electromagnetic waves to communicate with Earth.
Through a radio science subsystem, it sent radio waves of three different wavelengths through Titan’s atmosphere and on toward Earth. Some of those waves reflected from Titan’s surface.
Others refracted through its atmosphere before traveling to Earth.
Because the waves were transmitted in three different frequencies, each one would reflect or refract at different angles depending on what medium it encountered. On Earth, the properties of the waves were recorded by receiver antennas.
Scientists at NASA then compared the received wave properties to the original ones transmitted by Cassini.
They analyzed the differences in the radio waves to interpret what actually exists in the atmosphere and on the surface of Titan.
And discovered:
propylene and cyanide in the atmosphere;
equatorial dunes;
polar seas and lakes;
and even underground oceans!
Titan’s properties were revealed to be more Earth-like than anywhere else in the solar system so far!