A DISTANT moon in our solar system might mirror Earth’s seasons, according to scientists, who also believe it could be a candidate for finding nearby alien life.
And scientists just spotted a mysterious motion in its atmosphere.
Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a significant atmosphere, making it a top candidate for exploration[/caption]
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is home to sprawling rivers and lakes of liquid methane, icy boulders and dunes of grains that resemble coffee grounds.
It even has an ocean hiding beneath its surface.
Some 746million miles (1.2billion kilometers) away from Earth, the distant moon is thought to have rain clouds just like Earth.
Unlike seasons on Earth, Titan has a much longer seasonal cycle, with each year on the moon lasting nearly three decades on our planet.
Despite its brutally cold temperatures, which average around -179C (-290F), this strange, alien world appears to have the organic ingredients for life.
Titan is the only moon in our solar system with a significant atmosphere, making it a top candidate for exploration.
Nasa’s $3.35billion (£2.48billion) Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon is set to explore the possibility of past or present water-based life, particularly in subsurface oceans and liquid reservoirs.
The mission just passed its critical design review – meaning engineers can begin building the helicopter-like robot ahead of its scheduled launch in July 2028.
Dragonfly, which was officially selected as a viable mission in 2019, is expected to reach Titan sometime in 2034.
Nasa’s $3.35billion (£2.48billion) Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon is set to explore the possibility of past or present water-based life[/caption]
Dragonfly, which was officially selected as a viable mission in 2019, is expected to reach Titan sometime in 2034[/caption]
‘Strange’ motion
In late May, researchers found that Titan’s hazy atmosphere wobbles like a gyroscope in line with its seasons, as opposed to spinning in line with its surface.
The “strange” motion was detected following analysis of archival infrared data gathered by Cassini probe.
“The behavior of Titan’s atmospheric tilt is very strange,” Dr. Lucy Wright, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, said at the time.
“Titan’s atmosphere appears to be acting like a gyroscope, stabilising itself in space.
“We think some event in the past may have knocked the atmosphere off its spin axis, causing it to wobble.
“Even more intriguingly, we’ve found that the size of this tilt changes with Titan’s seasons.”
In late May, researchers found that Titan’s hazy atmosphere wobbles like a gyroscope in line with its seasons, as opposed to spinning in line with its surface[/caption]
But understanding how the atmosphere wobbles with the seasons is crucial for calculating the landing trajectory of Dragonfly.
The rotorcraft will be carried by Titan’s fast-moving winds as it descends through the atmosphere.
Winds on Titan’s upper atmosphere can be tempestuous, with speeds reaching up to 270mph (430kmph).
Near the surface, however, the winds are much weaker.
The tilt of the planet affects how Dragonfly’s payload – a suite of scientific instruments designed to search for alien life – will be carried through the air.
So research into the atmospheric motion can help engineers better predict where Dragonfly will touch down on the lunar surface.
Saturn’s moon Titan could harbor life, but only a tiny amount, a new study found[/caption]
Food for thought
There appears to be plenty of organic material on Titan to support alien lifeforms, according to a study published in The Planetary Science Journal last month.
Its lakes and its subsurface ocean believed to be 300miles deep, is thought to be filled with cold, oily methane and ethane – which is organic material.
“There has been this sense that because Titan has such abundant organics, there is no shortage of food sources that could sustain life,” Antonin Affholder, of the University of Arizona and lead author of the paper, said in a statement.
The world exceeds even Earth’s oil reserves.
However, scientists remain skeptical, and while Titan could harbour life, it’s likely only to be a small amount.
“We point out that not all of these organic molecules may constitute food sources, the ocean is really big,” added Affholder.
“And there’s limited exchange between the ocean and the surface, where all those organics are, so we argue for a more nuanced approach.”
All you need to know about planets in our solar system
Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all…
- How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet
- How many moons does Mercury have?
- What colour is Venus?
- How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet
- How big is Jupiter?
- How many moons does Saturn have?
- Does Uranus have rings?
- How many moons does Neptune have?
- How big is Pluto?
- How hot is the Sun?
