Titan, Saturn’s moon

Fig. 3.4 Summary of the processes which may occur on Saturn s moon Titan (Clarke and Ferris,...

The N( D) + H2 reaction has been less studied than 0( D) + H2. However atomic nitrogen is of fundainental int( r( st in combustion and astrophysical and atmospheric chemistry. For instance, reactions involving this species with simple hydrocarbons play a role in the atmosphere of Saturn s moon Titan. The N( D) - -H2 reaction is perhaj)s a better prototype of an insertion reaction than 0( D)- -H2. Here, there is no abstraction mechanism due to an excited PES [34]. 

Saturn s moon Titan is the only planetary satellite in the solar system with an atmosphere. Ethane is present in Titan s atmosphere along with the two major components nitrogen and methane. 

Hydrocarbons are also found in outer space. Asteroids and comets contain a variety of organic compounds. Methane and other hydrocarbons are found in the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Saturn s moon Titan has a solid form of methane—water ice at its surface and an atmosphere rich in methane. Whether of terrestrial or celestial origin, we need to understand the properties of alkanes. We begin with a consideration of their shapes and how we name them. 

The Cassini spacecraft successfully landed a small probe on tbe surface of Saturn s moon Titan in 2005. The probe discovered features that resemble lakes, rivers, and shorelines on Earth, but on Titan, they were formed by liquid methane instead of water. 

Planetary Sciences. Until the 1960 s, astronomers were limited to making observations of planets from Earth. However, the advent of interplanetary robotic spacecraft allowed scientists to study other planets in much the same way that they study Earth. Robotic spacecraft employ a battery of instruments, including cameras, spectrometers, neutron sensors, and magnetometers, to study planets from orbit. Spacecraft have landed on the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Saturn s moon Titan to study their surfaces. 

The next most likely possibility is cometary delivery of the atmosphere but again there are some problems with the isotope ratios, this time with D/H. The cometary D/H ratios measured in methane from Halley are 31 3 x 10-5 and 29 10 x 10-5 in Hayuatake and 33 8 x 10-5 in Hale-Bopp, whereas methane measurements from Earth of the Titan atmosphere suggest a methane D/H ratio of 10 5 x 10-5, which is considerably smaller than the ratio in the comets. The methane at least in Titan s atmosphere is not exclusively from cometary sources. Degassing of the rocks from which Titan was formed could be a useful source of methane, especially as the subnebula temperature around Saturn (100 K) is somewhat cooler than that around Jupiter. This would allow volatiles to be more easily trapped on Titan and contribute to the formation of a denser atmosphere. This mechanism would, however, apply to all of Saturn s moons equally and this is not the case. 

The most intriguing of Saturn s moons is Titan, larger than the planet Mercury. It is the only moon known to have an atmosphere. Nitrogen and methane gasses shroud Titan with dense clouds which our cameras cannot penetrate. The chemistry of this atmosphere is unlike that of any other. If we could descend to the surface of Titan, we might see ice mountains softly eroded by a persistent rain of complex chemicals, and a deep chemical ocean, a strange parody of the oceans of earth. Titan s atmosphere, like the ancient atmosphere of earth, contains prelife chemicals, but is too cold for life to evolve. 

Consideration, in view of the discovery of evidence of liquid water-ammonia eutectics on Titan and active water geysers on Saturn s moon Enceladus, of whether the planned missions to the solar system should be reordered to permit returning to Titan or Enceladus earlier than is now scheduled. 

Consideration, in view of the discovery of evidence of liquid water-ammonia eutectics on Titan and active water geysers on Saturn s moon Enceladus, of whether the planned missions to the solar system should be reordered to permit returning to Titan or Enceladus earlier than is now scheduled. The discovery of evidence of liquid water-ammonia eutectics on Titan provides a context for the potential for polar fluids outside what is normally regarded as the habitable zone. The stay of the Cassini-Huygens mission on the surface of Titan was unfortunately brief but this moon of Saturn is the locale that is arguably likely to support exotic life. 

The Cassim-Huygens spacecraft consists of two parts. Cassini is the orbiter, designed to attain orbit around Saturn, while Huygens is a space probe, designed to be released into the atmosphere of the planet s moon, Titan. NASA was responsible for the design and construction of the Cassini orbiter, while ESA was responsible for the Huygens probe. 

Mass spectrometry has even been used on space probes to analyse rocks on Mars and in 2005 a mass spectrometer was used to analyse the frozen hydrocarbon surface of Titan, one of Saturn s moons. The technique is also used to analyse the isotopes in the solar wind on board the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite. 

Considering the relative masses of Saturn s moons we have to state that 96% of the mass of them is concentrated in Titan, thus this satellite dominates the system. The six medium-sized spheroidal moons constitute 4%, and all small moons together just 0.01%. As of 2006 sixty satellites of Saturn have been confirmed. 

How can a scientist remain indifferent in light of the fact that carbon chains have been detected by radio astronomers in the molecular clouds present in the interstellar medium or in the circumstellar medium of carbon-rich stars or in the atmosphere of certain bodies of the Solar System such as Titan, Saturn s giant moon The wonder increases further when it is realized that about one thousand organic molecules classified as polyynes are produced by plants, fungi, and microorganisms and play a biological role in the biosphere and may be used in the treatment of diseases as antibiotics, anticancer or, more simply, as anti-infective agents. 

Saturn is the second-largest planet in the solar system, after Jupiter. Its equatorial radius is 37,448 miles (60,268 km), about nine times that of Earth, and its mass is 568.46 x 1024 kg, about 95 times that of Earth. As of early 2007, scientists had found 56 satellites of Saturn, the largest of which is Titan, with a radius of 8,448 feet (2,575 km, about 50 percent larger than that of Earth s Moon), and a mass of 1,345.5 x IO20 kg (about twice that of the Moon). Saturn s density is 0.687 g/cm3, less than that of water. This fact means that (if one could find a body of water large enough) Saturn would float on water. It is the only planet with a density less than that of water. 

The mean molar mass of the atmosphere at the surface of Titan, Saturn s largest moon, is 28.6g/mol. The surface temperature is 95 K, and the pressure is 1.6 atm. Assuming ideal behavior, calculate the density of Titan s atmosphere. 

From data gathered by Voyager 1, scientists have estimated the com- of 82 mol percent N2, 12 mol percent Ar, and 6.0 mol percent CH4. position of the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn s largest moon. The Calculate the partial pressure of each gas. 

Alkanes have the general molecular formula C 2n+i The simplest one, methane (CH4), is also the most abundant. Large amounts are present in our atmosphere, in the ground, and in the oceans. Methane has been found on Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and even on Halley s Comet. About 2-8% of the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn s largest moon, is methane. When it rains on Titan, it rains methane. 

In early 2005, the European Space Agency s Huygens Probe landed on Saturn s largest moon Titan. Soon after the 319-kg probe impacted the surface at a speed of 5 m s, a sudden increase in methane gas concentration was detected. The methane is believed to have been produced by the conversion of liquid methane in the soil to vapor as a result of heating from the impact. Determine the maximum amount of liquid methane that could have been evaporated in this process. State any assumptions that you make. 

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