First pics of Titan's (ocean?) surface only a few days away!
Jan 12, 2005 15: 08 EST
The European Space Agency's Huygens probe will descend to the surface of Titan, Saturns largest moon, on Friday, Jan. 14, providing a good view of the giant moon's surface for the first time in history.
Scientists have no clue what they'll find. Titan's unique atmosphere extends 10 times farther and is 1.5 times denser than Earth's atmosphere. It is made up primarily of nitrogen, and small amounts of methane, ethane and other hydrocarbons. It resembles Earth's atmosphere before life on our planet began more than 3.8 billion years ago.
Methane rains from Titan's skies may create ponds, lakes or seas that give rise to clouds, similar to Earth's water cycle. If so, the probe landing might be the first splashdown in an ocean off the Earth.
Images taken of Saturn's mysterious moon earlier (using the world's largest telescope, the Keck reflector on Hawaii) revealed a complex surface that may be home to icy landforms and frigid hydrocarbon seas. The dark and light areas may show bright continents and dark seas. They would be the only known open oceans in the Solar System, other than on Earth.
We'll know Friday...
Artist's impression on what we might find on Titan, courtesy of NASA.
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