Saturn’s Moon Titan has been subject to detailed observations for 30 years now, which covers one solar orbit for the planet. Scientists lead by Dr Athena Coustenis from the Paris-Meudon Observatory in France, have analysed data gathered over these years and found that the changing seasons of Titan affect it more than previously thought.
The recent analysis has shown that there are seasonal changes in atmospheric temperatures, chemical composition and circulation patterns, particularly at the poles. Hydrocarbon lakes form around the northern polar region during winter because of colder temperatures and condensation. The haze layer around the northern pole is also significantly reduced during the equinox because of the atmospheric circulation patterns.
The dominant energy source, and also the main cause of these cycles, is solar radiation. This radiation breaks up the nitrogen and methane present and creates more complex molecules like ethane. Titan is inclined at 27 degrees which is similar to Earth’s inclination, meaning the seasons on both worlds are caused by sunlight reaching different areas with varying intensity due to the tilt.
Data was analysed from many different missions, including Voyager 1 (1980), the Infrared Space Observatory (1997), and Cassini (2004 onward), and was also complemented by ground-based observations. The seasons on Titan each span around 7.5 years and it takes 29.5 years for Saturn to orbit the Sun.
The image is an impression of Titan’s surface, based on data from the Huygens mission, giving an idea the view from the ground.
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