Vintage Post (289): In the cold heat of Titan
Vintage Post (289): In the cold heat of Titan
Visualizing the changes in temperature on this moon over 12 years.
It is a cold world beyond what we can imagine, surrounded by an impenetrable haze that still isolates it more than a faraway Sun that illuminates it, but that it is incapable of heating. Or almost. Because even for Titan the slow step of his year, which lasts about 30 earth years, and therefore the slow passing of the seasons, which follow one another with an equally parsimonious rhythm, has a measurable effect on the thermal aspect. That is, to be able to record their evolution it is necessary to have an explorer capable of approaching it over a period of time of years, a decade at least to move from one station to another. Fortunately, as in many other aspects, we enjoy the privilege of having lived something like this.
The arrival of Cassini opened numerous windows to the climate of the only moon of the Solar System with a dense atmosphere. Among them the thermals, thanks to the CIRS instrument (Composite Infrared Spectrometer), able to observe Titan in specific spectral waves before which its opaque atmosphere is almost transparent. Thanks to this we know what the surface temperatures are, and thanks to the fact that it has been active for more than a decade, how they have changed over time.
When Cassini came to Saturn in 2004, the southern hemisphere of Titan It was at the end of Summer and, therefore, it was the warmest region. Shortly after the equinox of 2009, in 2010, the temperatures were symmetrical in both hemispheres, just as it happened when the Voyager 1, in 1980. Later the south of was cooling, and the north warming up as it progressed the austral winter and the northern summer. Some observations over time that only an orbital probe and long-lasting could get, but not with difficulties. The same conditions of this moon, surrounded by such a dense atmosphere, is an obstacle even for the CIRS. Which gives even more merit to what is now presented.
The results show a maximum temperature of -179.6 Cº (93 Kelvin), with a minimum temperature at the poles that can fall to only 3.5 Kelvin, near the absolute 0. It may seem like a lot of difference, but it's a minor contrast to what we can find in our own land, which can exceed 100Cº. The great distance to Sun and a dense and opaque atmosphere mitigate said differences.
Atmosphere, clouds, rain, rivers, lake, seas, seasons.Titan again it reminds us of its amazing resemblance to land, even if it is an icy version but capable of generating its own hydrological and climatic dynamics. The curtain of the mission Cassini It was closed a long time ago. Hopefully not forever.
The data of the CIRS, a simplified model that allows to see the thermal evolution throughout the year of Saturn, equivalent to 30 terrestrial. The bands that cross the image are not so much temperature differences as a result of how difficult it is to make this type of measurements through such a dense atmosphere.
The data, without being "softened" by a graph, allow to see the thermal changes, but also that Titan has climatic patterns that make this evolution not so simple, with peaks and valleys such as we could see on Earth.
The icy Titan, seen by the Hyugens shortly before landing on the surface and already located under its dense layer of fog. Here, too, the passing of the seasons is noticeable, with warm summers and cold winters. Or said from the terrestrial point of view, icy summers and incredibly icy winters.
Titan Temperature Lag Maps & Animation
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