Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world

Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world	Andrew Yee
Re: Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world of Titan (Forwarded)	John Curtis
Re: Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world of Titan (Forwarded)	Landy

From: Andrew Yee Subject: Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 18:13:21 -0500 European Space Agency Press Release No. 5-2005 Paris, France 21 January 2005 Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world of Titan On 14 January ESA's Huygens probe made an historic first ever descent to the surface of Titan, 1.2 billion kilometres from Earth and the largest of Saturn's moons. Huygens travelled to Titan as part of the joint ESA/NASA/ASI Cassini-Huygens mission. Starting at about 150 kilometres altitude, six multi-function instruments on board Huygens recorded data during the descent and on the surface. The first scientific assessments of Huygens' data were presented during a press conference at ESA head office in Paris on 21 January. "We now have the key to understanding what shapes Titan's landscape," said Dr Martin Tomasko, Principal Investigator for the Descent Imager-Spectral Radiometer (DISR), adding: "Geological evidence for precipitation, erosion, mechanical abrasion and other fluvial activity says that the physical processes shaping Titan are much the same as those shaping Earth." Spectacular images captured by the DISR reveal that Titan has extraordinarily Earth-like meteorology and geology. Images have shown a complex network of narrow drainage channels running from brighter highlands to lower, flatter, dark regions. These channels merge into river systems running into lakebeds featuring offshore 'islands' and 'shoals' remarkably similar to those on Earth. Data provided in part by the Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) and Surface Science Package (SSP) support Dr Tomasko's conclusions. Huygens' data provide strong evidence for liquids flowing on Titan. However, the fluid involved is methane, a simple organic compound that can exist as a liquid or gas at Titan's sub-170 C temperatures, rather than water as on Earth. Titan's rivers and lakes appear dry at the moment, but rain may have occurred not long ago. Deceleration and penetration data provided by the SSP indicate that the material beneath the surface's crust has the consistency of loose sand, possibly the result of methane rain falling on the surface over eons, or the wicking of liquids from below towards the surface. Heat generated by Huygens warmed the soil beneath the probe and both the GCMS and SSP detected bursts of methane gas boiled out of surface material, reinforcing methane's principal role in Titan's geology and atmospheric meteorology -- forming clouds and precipitation that erodes and abrades the surface. In addition, DISR surface images show small rounded pebbles in a dry riverbed. Spectra measurements (colour) are consistent with a composition of dirty water ice rather than silicate rocks. However, these are rock-like solid at Titan's temperatures. Titan's soil appears to consist at least in part of precipitated deposits of the organic haze that shrouds the planet. This dark material settles out of the atmosphere. When washed off high elevations by methane rain, it concentrates at the bottom of the drainage channels and riverbeds contributing to the dark areas seen in DISR images. New, stunning evidence based on finding atmospheric argon 40 indicates that Titan has experienced volcanic activity generating not lava, as on Earth, but water ice and ammonia. Thus, while many of Earth's familiar geophysical processes occur on Titan, the chemistry involved is quite different. Instead of liquid water, Titan has liquid methane. Instead of silicate rocks, Titan has frozen water ice. Instead of dirt, Titan has hydrocarbon particles settling out of the atmosphere, and instead of lava, Titanian volcanoes spew very cold ice. Titan is an extraordinary world having Earth-like geophysical processes operating on exotic materials in very alien conditions. "We are really extremely excited about these results. The scientists have worked tirelessly for the whole week because the data they have received from Huygens are so thrilling. This is only the beginning, these data will live for many years to come and they will keep the scientists very very busy", said Jean-Pierre Lebreton, ESA's Huygens Project Scientist and Mission manager. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperation between NASA, ESA and ASI, the Italian space agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, is managing the mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington DC. JPL designed, developed and assembled the Cassini orbiter while ESA operated the Huygens atmospheric probe. For further information, please contact: ESA Media Relations Division Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.7155 Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690 Related links * Exploring Saturn and Titan http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/index.html * Huygens raw images http://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/titanraw/index.htm * Sounds of Titan http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM85Q71Y3E_index_0.html * NASA's Cassini-Huygens site http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov * Italian Space Agency (ASI) http://www.asi.it Related articles * Islands, rivers and methane springs - latest images of Titan http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM48881Y3E_index_0.html * Huygens lands in Titanian mud http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM5YW71Y3E_index_0.html * View from ten kilometres high http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMA6U71Y3E_index_0.html * New images from Titan http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/SEMC8Q71Y3E_0.html * First images from Titan http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMBQO71Y3E_index_0.html * Europe reaches new frontier -- Huygens lands on Titan http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMQ1QQ3K3E_index_0.html * Radio astronomers confirm Huygens entry in the atmosphere of Titan http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM8ZK71Y3E_index_0.html IMAGE CAPTIONS: [Image 1: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMHB881Y3E_index_1.html] This mosaic of three frames provides unprecedented detail of the high ridge area including the flow down into a major river channel from different sources. Credits: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona [Image 2: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMHB881Y3E_index_1.html#subhead1] A single image from the Huygens DISR instrument of a dark plain area on Titan, seen during descent to the landing site, that indicates flow around bright 'islands'. The areas below and above the bright islands may be at different elevations. Credits: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona [Image 3: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMHB881Y3E_index_1.html#subhead2] A single Huygens DISR image that shows two new features on the surface of Titan. A bright linear feature suggests an area where water ice may have been extruded onto the surface. Also visible are short, stubby dark channels that may have been formed by 'springs' of liquid methane rather than methane 'rain'. Credits: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona [Image 4: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMHB881Y3E_index_1.html#subhead3] A view of Titan from the VIMS instrument on the Cassini orbiter. The Huygens probe landed in the small red circle on the boundary of the bright and dark regions. The size of the circle shows the field of view of the Huygens DISR imager from an altitude of 20 kilometres. Credits: ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona [Image 5: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMHB881Y3E_index_1.html#subhead4] Panel of scientists presenting Huygens results. Credits: ESA-P. SEBIROT From: John Curtis Subject: Re: Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world of Titan (Forwarded) Date: 22 Jan 2005 05:39:48 -0800 Andrew Yee wrote: > > New, stunning evidence based on finding atmospheric argon 40 indicates that > Titan has experienced volcanic activity generating not lava, as on Earth, but > water ice and ammonia. > Basaltic lava requires liquid water to form silicates. Granitic lava requires free oxygen to form silica. Absence of liquid water or free oxygen from Titan's surface suggests that silicon may be exiting the volcano in its primordial form as silane (SiH4) ice. Silane was detected on Jupiter and Saturn: http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/physics/pdf/9906/9906037.pdf John Curtis From: Landy Subject: Re: Seeing, touching and smelling the extraordinarily Earth-like world of Titan (Forwarded) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 09:37:32 +1100 > Basaltic lava requires liquid water to form silicates. Nonsense. Pesence of water in the source rock (mantle lherzolites) lowers the melting temperature but is not necessary to form basaltic magmas. Likewise water is not required for the crystallization of silcate minerals from a silicate magma. A multitude of unpressurized crystallization experiments demonstrate this. > Granitic lava requires free oxygen to form silica. Also nonsense. Free oxygen? Granitic magma has much bound oxygen - no free oxygen. The silicon is already present as silica in the magma (not lava). Surely a more logical explanation of the lack of silcate magmas on a plantary body is that the body contains very little silica in the first place. Occams razor. cheers Bill