Saturn's Satellites' Atmospheres

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by Eman Resu, Jan 15, 2005.

  1. Eman Resu Registered Senior Member

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    Whatever the name of the moon is ... it has an atmosphere of Methane - along with "seas" of Methane.

    Why doesn't the moon go BOOM when a foreign object penetrates the atmosphere? I trust that massive amounts of heat are generated when the probe enters the atmosphere ...

    Any thoughts or links?
     
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  3. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

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    Such ignorance!! The name is Titan!
     
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  5. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

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    Anyways in my rush I forgot to tell that 80-90% of Titan's atmosphere is Nitrogen not Methan, though it has Methan in it too, Methan rain and liquid Methan on surface is possible, but the new data from the ESA's Huygens probe should tell that in detail.
     
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  7. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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  8. Communist Hamster Cricetulus griseus leninus Valued Senior Member

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    It wont all go FOOM in a great fireball, because fire requires oxygen, and there is next to no oxygen on Titan.
     
  9. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

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  10. Neildo Gone Registered Senior Member

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    Heh, so if ever there's warfare there, all we gotta do is make some oxygen bombs. Crazy how something that we need so dearly for life can be so lethal. And if a human ever breathed on that planet, I guess that would seriously be some bad breath!

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  11. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

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    On prehistoric early Earth there was next to no oxygen in the atmosphere, our's was very like Titan and most of the early life died out, when plants introduced oxygen. Oxygen was deadly to the most of that time microbes, bacteria, etc.
     
  12. Clockwood You Forgot Poland Registered Senior Member

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    When oxygen was first introduced to Earth's atmosphere, it was one of the worst poisons known. It may as well have been acid, as even exposed rocks were oxidized and destroyed in very little time. I don't know if humanity will ever live up to the plant kingdom in sheer polluting ability.

    I was shocked when I learned that Titan had river channels, lakes, and shorelines. It amazes me that one of the coldest bodies in the solar system is still so active. It even seems to get a fair amount of sunlight. For the first time, I believe we might be able to get some severely engineered life to grow and flourish in Titan... though of a type normal humans would probably never be able to use.
     
  13. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

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    I think much of the credit to Titan's activity has to be given to the enormous gravity of Saturn.
     
  14. Eman Resu Registered Senior Member

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    It seems to me that we are speculating that there was no oxygen on Earth at it's origin. How is it speculated that oxygen was introduced to our atmosphere?
     
  15. Avatar smoking revolver Valued Senior Member

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    Actually it's quite proven and it's the accepted theory. Even NASA says so, when linking Titan's atmsphere to that of early Earth.
    The following text is not from NASA

    http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/Gases/origin.html

    And this
    http://eesc.columbia.edu/courses/ees/climate/lectures/earth.html

    and this too
    from here -> http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfjps/1400/atmos_origin.html
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2005

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