Titan (moon)

1 Discovery and naming

Not to be confused with Titania (moon) or Triton (moon).

Titan (or Saturn VI) is the largest moon of Saturn.
It is the only natural satellite known to have a dense
atmosphere,[9] and the only object other than Earth for
which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid
has been found.[10]
Titan is the sixth ellipsoidal moon from Saturn. Frequently described as a planet-like moon, Titan has a
diameter 50% larger than Earths natural satellite, the
Moon, and is 80% more massive. It is the secondlargest moon in the Solar System, after Jupiters moon
Ganymede, and is larger by volume than the smallest
planet, Mercury, although only 40% as massive. Discovered in 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens,[11][12] Titan was the rst known moon of Saturn,
and the fth known satellite of another planet.[13]
Titan is primarily composed of water ice and rocky material. Much as with Venus prior to the Space Age,
the dense, opaque atmosphere prevented understanding
of Titans surface until new information accumulated
with the arrival of the CassiniHuygens mission in 2004,
including the discovery of liquid hydrocarbon lakes in
Titans polar regions. The geologically young surface
is generally smooth, with few impact craters, although
mountains and several possible cryovolcanoes have been
found.[14][15]

Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan in 1655.

The atmosphere of Titan is largely nitrogen; minor components lead to the formation of methane and ethane
clouds and nitrogen-rich organic smog. The climate
including wind and raincreates surface features similar
to those of Earth, such as dunes, rivers, lakes, seas (probably of liquid methane and ethane), and deltas, and is dominated by seasonal weather patterns as on Earth. With its
liquids (both surface and subsurface) and robust nitrogen
atmosphere, Titans methane cycle is viewed as an analogy to Earths water cycle, although at a much lower temperature. On June 23, 2014, NASA announced strong
evidence that nitrogen in the atmosphere of Titan came
from materials in the Oort cloud, associated with comets,
and not from the materials that formed Saturn earlier.[16]
On July 2, 2014, NASA reported the ocean inside Titan
may be as salty as the Dead Sea.[17][18] On September 3,
2014, NASA reported studies suggesting methane rainfall
on Titan may interact with a layer of icy materials underground, called an alkanofer, to produce ethane and
propane that may eventually feed into rivers and lakes.[19]

Titan was discovered on March 25, 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens. Huygens was inspired by
Galileo's discovery of Jupiters four largest moons in 1610
and his improvements in telescope technology. Christiaan, with the help of his brother Constantijn Huygens,
Jr., began building telescopes around 1650 and discovered the rst observed moon orbiting Saturn with one of
the telescopes they built.[20]
He named it simply Saturni Luna (or Luna Saturni, Latin
for Saturns moon), publishing in the 1655 tract De Saturni Luna Observatio Nova (A New Observation of Saturns Moon). After Giovanni Domenico Cassini published his discoveries of four more moons of Saturn between 1673 and 1686, astronomers fell into the habit of
referring to these and Titan as Saturn I through V (with
Titan then in fourth position). Other early epithets for
Titan include Saturns ordinary satellite.[21] Titan is ofcially numbered Saturn VI because after the 1789 discoveries the numbering scheme was frozen to avoid causing any more confusion (Titan having borne the numbers
1

BULK CHARACTERISTICS

II and IV as well as VI). Numerous small moons have would have migrated from a chaotic orbitis considered
been discovered closer to Saturn since then.
unlikely, based on models. Hyperion probably formed
abThe name Titan, and the names of all seven satellites of in a stable orbital island, whereas the massive Titan [24]
sorbed
or
ejected
bodies
that
made
close
approaches.
Saturn then known, came from John Herschel (son of
William Herschel, discoverer of Mimas and Enceladus)
in his 1847 publication Results of Astronomical Observations Made at the Cape of Good Hope.[22] He suggested
the names of the mythological Titans (Ancient Greek:
), brothers and sisters of Cronus, the Greek Saturn.
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful
deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during
the legendary Golden Age.

3 Bulk characteristics

Orbit and rotation

Size comparison: Titan in infrared (lower left) with the

Moon and Earth (top and right)

A model of Titans internal structure

Titans orbit (highlighted in red) among the other large inner
moons of Saturn. The moons outside its orbit are (from the outside to the inside) Iapetus and Hyperion; those inside are Rhea,
Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas.

Titan is 5,150 kilometres (3,200 mi) in diameter, compared to 4,879 kilometres (3,032 mi) for the planet Mercury, 3,474 kilometres (2,159 mi) for the Moon, and
12,742 kilometres (7,918 mi) for Earth. Before the arrival of Voyager 1 in 1980, Titan was thought to be
slightly larger than Ganymede (diameter 5,262 kilometres (3,270 mi)) and thus the largest moon in the Solar System; this was an overestimation caused by Titans dense, opaque atmosphere, which extends many
kilometres above its surface and increases its apparent
diameter.[25] Titans diameter and mass (and thus its density) are similar to those of the Jovian moons Ganymede
and Callisto.[26] Based on its bulk density of 1.88 g/cm3 ,
Titans bulk composition is half water ice and half rocky
material. Though similar in composition to Dione and
Enceladus, it is denser due to gravitational compression.

Titan orbits Saturn once every 15 days and 22 hours. Like

the Moon, and many of the satellites of the gas giants, its
rotational period is identical to its orbital period; Titan is
thus tidally locked in synchronous rotation with Saturn,
and always shows one face to the planet. Because of this,
there is a sub-Saturnian point on its surface, from which
the planet would appear to hang directly overhead. Longitudes on Titan are measured westward from the meridian passing through this point.[23] Its orbital eccentricity
is 0.0288, and the orbital plane is inclined 0.348 degrees
relative to the Saturnian equator.[2] Viewed from Earth,
Titan reaches an angular distance of about 20 Saturn radii Titan is likely dierentiated into several layers with a
(just over 1,200,000 kilometres (750,000 mi)) from Sat- 3,400-kilometre (2,100 mi) rocky center surrounded by
urn and subtends a disk 0.8 arcseconds in diameter.
several layers composed of dierent crystal forms of
The small, irregularly shaped satellite Hyperion is locked ice.[27] Its interior may still be hot and there may be a
in a 3:4 orbital resonance with Titan. A slow and liquid layer consisting of a "magma" composed of water
smooth evolution of the resonancein which Hyperion and ammonia between the ice I crust and deeper ice lay-

3
ers made of high-pressure forms of ice. The presence of
ammonia allows water to remain liquid even at temperatures as low as 176 K (97 C) (for eutectic mixture with
water).[28] Evidence for such an ocean was uncovered by
the Cassini probe in the form of natural extremely-lowfrequency radio waves in Titans atmosphere. Titans surface is thought to be a poor reector of extremely-lowfrequency radio waves, so they may instead be reecting
o the liquidice boundary of a subsurface ocean.[29] Surface features were observed by the Cassini spacecraft to
systematically shift by up to 30 kilometres (19 mi) between October 2005 and May 2007, which suggests that
the crust is decoupled from the interior, and provides additional evidence for an interior liquid layer.[30] Further
supporting evidence for a liquid layer and decoupled ice
shell, comes from the way the gravity eld varies as Titan
orbits Saturn.[31] Comparison of the gravity eld with the
RADAR-based topography observations[32] also suggests
that the ice shell may be substantially rigid.[33][34]
True-color image of layers of haze in Titans atmosphere

Formation

The moons of Jupiter and Saturn are thought to have

formed through co-accretion, a similar process to that believed to have formed the planets in the Solar System.
As the young gas giants formed, they were surrounded
by discs of material that gradually coalesced into moons.
However, whereas Jupiter possesses four large satellites in
highly regular, planet-like orbits, Titan overwhelmingly
dominates Saturns system and possesses a high orbital
eccentricity not immediately explained by co-accretion
alone. A proposed model for the formation of Titan is
that Saturns system began with a group of moons similar to Jupiters Galilean satellites, but that they were disrupted by a series of giant impacts, which would go on
to form Titan. Saturns mid-sized moons, such as Iapetus
and Rhea, were formed from the debris of these collisions. Such a violent beginning would also explain Titans
orbital eccentricity.[35]

that Titans atmosphere is denser than Earths, with a

surface pressure about 1.45 times that of Earths. Titans atmosphere is about 1.19 times as massive as Earths
overall,[37] or about 7.3 times more massive on a per surface area basis. It supports opaque haze layers that block
most visible light from the Sun and other sources and
renders Titans surface features obscure.[38] Titans lower
gravity means that its atmosphere is far more extended
than Earths.[39] The atmosphere of Titan is opaque at
many wavelengths and a complete reectance spectrum
of the surface is impossible to acquire from orbit.[40] It
was not until the arrival of the CassiniHuygens spacecraft in 2004 that the rst direct images of Titans surface
were obtained.[41]

In 2014, analysis of Titans atmospheric nitrogen suggested that it has possibly been sourced from material
similar to that found in the Oort cloud and not from
sources present during co-accretion of materials around
Saturn.[16]

Atmosphere

Main article: Atmosphere of Titan

Titan is the only known moon with a signicant
atmosphere. Its atmosphere is the only nitrogen-rich
dense atmosphere in the Solar System aside from Earths.
Observations of its atmosphere made in 2004 by Cassini
suggest that Titan is a super rotator, like Venus, with an
atmosphere that rotates much faster than its surface.[36]
Observations from the Voyager space probes have shown

Titans South Pole Vortexa swirling HCN gas cloud (November

29, 2012).

Titans atmospheric composition in the stratosphere is

98.4% nitrogen with the remaining 1.6% composed
mostly of methane (1.4%) and hydrogen (0.10.2%).[8]
There are trace amounts of other hydrocarbons, such
as ethane, diacetylene, methylacetylene, acetylene and
propane, and of other gases, such as cyanoacetylene,
hydrogen cyanide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide,

6 CLIMATE

cyanogen, argon and helium.[7] The hydrocarbons are

thought to form in Titans upper atmosphere in reactions resulting from the breakup of methane by the Suns
ultraviolet light, producing a thick orange smog.[42] Titan
spends 95% of its time within Saturns magnetosphere,
which may help shield Titan from the solar wind.[43]
Energy from the Sun should have converted all traces of
methane in Titans atmosphere into more complex hydrocarbons within 50 million years a short time compared
to the age of the Solar System. This suggests that methane
must be somehow replenished by a reservoir on or within
Titan itself.[44] The ultimate origin of the methane in Titans atmosphere may be its interior, released via eruptions from cryovolcanoes.[45][46][47]

Polar clouds, made of methane, on Titan (left)

compared with polar clouds on Earth (right), which are
made of water or water ice.

6 Climate
Main article: Climate of Titan
Titans surface temperature is about 94 K (179.2 C).
Trace organic gases in Titans atmosphereHNC (left) and
HC3 N (right).

On April 3, 2013, NASA reported that complex organic

chemicals could arise on Titan based on studies simulating the atmosphere of Titan.[48]
On June 6, 2013, scientists at the IAA-CSIC reported
the detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the
upper atmosphere of Titan.[49]
On September 30, 2013, propene was detected in the atmosphere of Titan by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, using
its composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS).[50] This is
the rst time propene has been found on any moon or
planet other than Earth and is the rst chemical found
by the CIRS. The detection of propene lls a mysterious
gap in observations that date back to NASAs Voyager
1 spacecrafts rst close yby of Titan in 1980, during
which it was discovered that many of the gases that make
up Titans hazy brown colored haze were hydrocarbons,
theoretically formed via the recombination of radicals
formed by the ultraviolet photolysis[42] of methane, the
second-most common gas in Titans atmosphere. Voyager 1 also discovered propane, the heaviest member of
the three-carbon family, and propyne, the lightest member of that family, but did not detect propene.

Atmospheric polar vortex over Titans south pole

At this temperature water ice has an extremely low vapor

pressure, so the little water vapor present appears limited
to the stratosphere.[53] Titan receives about 1% as much
sunlight as Earth.[54]

Atmospheric methane creates a greenhouse eect on Titans surface, without which Titan would be far colder.[55]
Conversely, haze in Titans atmosphere contributes to an
anti-greenhouse eect by reecting sunlight back into
space, cancelling a portion of the greenhouse eect and
On October 24, 2014, methane was found in polar clouds making its surface signicantly colder than its upper
on Titan.[51][52]
atmosphere.[56]

7.1

Liquids

Map of Titans surface from April 2011

Titan methane clouds (animated; July 2014).[57]

Titans clouds, probably composed of methane, ethane or

other simple organics, are scattered and variable, punctuating the overall haze.[25] The ndings of the Huygens
probe indicate that Titans atmosphere periodically rains
liquid methane and other organic compounds onto its
surface.[58]
Clouds typically cover 1% of Titans disk, though outburst events have been observed in which the cloud cover
rapidly expands to as much as 8%. One hypothesis asserts that the southern clouds are formed when heightened levels of sunlight during the southern summer generate uplift in the atmosphere, resulting in convection.
This explanation is complicated by the fact that cloud
formation has been observed not only after the southern
summer solstice but also during mid-spring. Increased
methane humidity at the south pole possibly contributes
to the rapid increases in cloud size.[59] It was summer in
Titans southern hemisphere until 2010, when Saturns
orbit, which governs Titans motion, moved Titans northern hemisphere into the sunlight.[60] When the seasons
switch, it is expected that ethane will begin to condense
over the south pole.[61]

timetry and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging to

map portions of Titan during its close y-bys. The rst
images revealed a diverse geology, with both rough and
smooth areas. There are features that may be volcanic
in origin, disgorging water mixed with ammonia onto the
surface. However, there is also evidence that Titans ice
shell may be substantially rigid,[33][34] which would suggest little geologic activity.[65]
There are also streaky features, some of them hundreds
of kilometers in length, that appear to be caused by windblown particles.[66][67] Examination has also shown the
surface to be relatively smooth; the few objects that seem
to be impact craters appeared to have been lled in, perhaps by raining hydrocarbons or volcanoes. Radar altimetry suggests height variation is low, typically no more
than 150 meters. Occasional elevation changes of 500
meters have been discovered and Titan has mountains
that sometimes reach several hundred meters to more
than 1 kilometer in height.[68]

Titans surface is marked by broad regions of bright and

dark terrain. These include Xanadu, a large, reective
equatorial area about the size of Australia. It was rst
identied in infrared images from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1994, and later viewed by the Cassini spacecraft.
The convoluted region is lled with hills and cut by valleys and chasms.[69] It is criss-crossed in places by dark
lineamentssinuous topographical features resembling
ridges or crevices. These may represent tectonic activity,
which would indicate that Xanadu is geologically young.
Alternatively, the lineaments may be liquid-formed channels, suggesting old terrain that has been cut through by
stream systems.[70] There are dark areas of similar size
7 Surface features
elsewhere on Titan, observed from the ground and by
Cassini; it had been speculated that these are methane
or ethane seas, but Cassini observations seem to indicate
See also: List of geological features on Titan
The surface of Titan has been described as complex, otherwise (see below).
uid-processed, [and] geologically young.[62] Titan has
been around since the Solar Systems formation, but its
surface is much younger, between 100 million and 1 bil- 7.1 Liquids
lion years old. Geological processes may have reshaped
Titans surface.[63] Titans atmosphere is twice as thick as Main article: Lakes of Titan
Earths, making it dicult for astronomical instruments The possibility of hydrocarbon seas on Titan was rst
to image its surface in the visible light spectrum.[64] The suggested based on Voyager 1 and 2 data that showed TiCassini spacecraft is using infrared instruments, radar al- tan to have a thick atmosphere of approximately the cor-

7 SURFACE FEATURES
lakes are concentrated near the poles (where the relative
lack of sunlight prevents evaporation), a number of longstanding hydrocarbon lakes in the equatorial desert regions have also been discovered, including one near the
Huygens landing site in the Shangri-La region, which is
about half the size of Utahs Great Salt Lake. The equatorial lakes are probably "oases", i.e. the likely supplier
is underground aquifers.[79]

False-color Cassini radar mosaic of Titans north polar region.

Blue coloring indicates low radar reectivity, caused by hydrocarbon seas, lakes and tributary networks lled with liquid
ethane, methane and dissolved N2 .[8] About half of the large
body at lower left, Kraken Mare, is shown. Ligeia Mare is at
lower right.

Evolving feature in Ligeia Mare.

In June 2008, the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer on Cassini conrmed the presence of liquid
ethane beyond doubt in Ontario Lacus.[80] On December
21, 2008, Cassini passed directly over Ontario Lacus and
observed specular reection in radar. The strength of the
reection saturated the probes receiver, indicating that
the lake level did not vary by more than 3 mm (implying either that surface winds were minimal, or the lakes
hydrocarbon uid is viscous).[81][82]

rect temperature and composition to support them, but

direct evidence was not obtained until 1995 when data
from Hubble and other observations suggested the existence of liquid methane on Titan, either in disconnected
pockets or on the scale of satellite-wide oceans, similar Specular reections are indicative of a smooth, mirrorto water on Earth.[71]
like surface, so the observation corroborated the inferThe Cassini mission conrmed the former hypothesis, ence of the presence of a large liquid body drawn from
although not immediately. When the probe arrived in radar imaging. The observation was made soon after the
the Saturnian system in 2004, it was hoped that hy- north polar region emerged from 15 years of winter darkdrocarbon lakes or oceans would be detected from the ness.
sunlight reected o their surface, but no specular reections were initially observed.[72] Near Titans south
pole, an enigmatic dark feature named Ontario Lacus
was identied[73] (and later conrmed to be a lake).[74]
A possible shoreline was also identied near the pole via
radar imagery.[75] Following a yby on July 22, 2006, in
which the Cassini spacecrafts radar imaged the northern latitudes (that were then in winter), a number of
large, smooth (and thus dark to radar) patches were seen
dotting the surface near the pole.[76] Based on the observations, scientists announced denitive evidence of
lakes lled with methane on Saturns moon Titan in January 2007.[10][77] The CassiniHuygens team concluded
that the imaged features are almost certainly the longsought hydrocarbon lakes, the rst stable bodies of surface liquid found outside of Earth. Some appear to have
channels associated with liquid and lie in topographical
depressions.[10] The liquid erosion features appear to be
a very recent occurrence: channels in some regions have
created surprisingly little erosion, suggesting erosion on
Titan is extremely slow, or some other recent phenomena
may have wiped out older riverbeds and landforms.[63]
Overall, the Cassini radar observations have shown that
lakes cover only a few percent of the surface, making
Titan much drier than Earth.[78] Although most of the

Near-infrared radiation from the Sun reecting o Titans hydrocarbon seas.

On July 8, 2009, Cassinis VIMS observed a specular reection indicative of a smooth, mirror-like surface, o
what today is called Jingpo Lacus, a lake in the north po-

7.2

Impact craters

lar region shortly after the area emerged from 15 years of

winter darkness.[83][84]
Early radar measurements made in July 2009 and January
2010 indicated that Ontario Lacus was extremely shallow,
with an average depth of 0.43 m, and a maximum depth
of 3 to 7 m (9.8 to 23.0 ft).[85] In contrast, the northern
hemispheres Ligeia Mare was initially mapped to depths
exceeding 8 m, the maximum discernable by the radar instrument and the analysis techniques of the time.[85] Later
science analysis, released in 2014, more fully mapped the
depths of Titans three methane seas and showed depths
of more than 200 meters (660 ft). Ligeia Mare averages
from 20 to 40 m (66 to 131 ft) in depth, while other parts
of Ligeia did not register any radar reection at all, indicating a depth of more than 200 m (660 ft). While
only the second largest of Titans methane seas, Ligeia
contains enough liquid methane to ll three Lake Michigans.[86]
During a yby on 26 September 2012, Cassini's radar detected in Titans northern polar region what is likely a
river with a length of more than 400 kilometers. It has
been compared with the much larger Nile river on Earth.
This feature ends in Ligeia Mare.[74]
During six ybys of Titan from 2006 to 2011, Cassini
gathered radiometric tracking and optical navigation data
from which investigators could roughly infer Titans
changing shape. The density of Titan is consistent with a
body that is about 60% rock and 40% water. The teams
analyses suggest that Titans surface can rise and fall by
up to 10 metres during each orbit. That degree of warping suggests that Titans interior is relatively deformable,
and that the most likely model of Titan is one in which
an icy shell dozens of kilometres thick oats atop a global
ocean.[87] The teams ndings, together with the results of
previous studies, hint that Titans ocean may lie no more
than 100 kilometres (62 mi) below its surface.[87][88] On
July 2, 2014, NASA reported the ocean inside Titan
may be as salty as the Dead Sea.[17][18] On September 3,
2014, NASA reported studies suggesting methane rainfall
on Titan may interact with a layer of icy materials underground, called an alkanofer, to produce ethane and
propane that may eventually feed into rivers and lakes.[19]

7.2

Impact craters

Radar, SAR and imaging data from Cassini have revealed

few impact craters on Titans surface.[63] These impacts
appear to be relatively young, compared to Titans age.[63]
The few impact craters discovered include a 440 kilometres (270 mi) wide two-ring impact basin named Menrva seen by Cassinis ISS as a bright-dark concentric
pattern.[90] A smaller, 60 kilometres (37 mi) wide, atoored crater named Sinlap[91] and a 30 kilometres (19
mi) crater with a central peak and dark oor named Ksa
have also been observed.[92] Radar and Cassini imaging
have also revealed a number of crateriforms, circular

Radar image of a 139 kilometres (86 mi) diameter[89] impact

crater on Titans surface, showing a smooth oor, rugged rim,
and possibly a central peak.

features on the surface of Titan that may be impact related, but lack certain features that would make identication certain. For example, a 90 kilometres (56 mi)
wide ring of bright, rough material known as Guabonito
has been observed by Cassini.[93] This feature is thought
to be an impact crater lled in by dark, windblown sediment. Several other similar features have been observed
in the dark Shangri-la and Aaru regions. Radar observed
several circular features that may be craters in the bright
region Xanadu during Cassinis April 30, 2006 yby of
Titan.[94]
Many of Titans craters or probable craters display evidence of extensive erosion, and all show some indication of modication.[89] Most large craters have breached
or incomplete rims, despite the fact that some craters on
Titan have relatively more massive rims than those anywhere else in the Solar System. However, there is little
evidence of formation of palimpsests through viscoelastic crustal relaxation, unlike on other large icy moons.[89]
Most craters lack central peaks and have smooth oors,
possibly due to impact-generation or later eruption of
cryovolcanic lava. Although inll from various geological processes is one reason for Titans relative deciency
of craters, atmospheric shielding also plays a role; it is
estimated that Titans atmosphere reduces the number of
craters on its surface by a factor of two.[95]
The limited high-resolution radar coverage of Titan obtained through 2007 (22%) suggested the existence of
a number of nonuniformities in its crater distribution.
Xanadu has 29 times more craters than elsewhere.
The leading hemisphere has a 30% higher density than
the trailing hemisphere. There are lower crater densities in areas of equatorial dunes and in the north polar region (where hydrocarbon lakes and seas are most
common).[89]
Pre-Cassini models of impact trajectories and angles suggest that where the impactor strikes the water ice crust, a
small amount of ejecta remains as liquid water within the
crater. It may persist as liquid for centuries or longer, sufcient for the synthesis of simple precursor molecules to
the origin of life.[96]

7.3

7 SURFACE FEATURES

Cryovolcanism and mountains

although the American Geophysical Union refuted this

hypothesis in December 2008. The feature was found
See also: Cryovolcano
to be not a dome at all, but appeared to result from acScientists have long speculated that conditions on Titan cidental combination of light and dark patches.[100][101]
In 2004 Cassini also detected an unusually bright feature
(called Tortola Facula), which was interpreted as a cryovolcanic dome.[102] No similar features have been identied as of 2010.[103] In December 2008, astronomers
announced the discovery of two transient but unusually
long-lived bright spots in Titans atmosphere, which appear too persistent to be explained by mere weather patterns, suggesting they were the result of extended cryovolcanic episodes.[28]
In March 2009, structures resembling lava ows were announced in a region of Titan called Hotei Arcus, which
appears to uctuate in brightness over several months.
Though many phenomena were suggested to explain this
uctuation, the lava ows were found to rise 200 metres
(660 ft) above Titans surface, consistent with it having
been erupted from beneath the surface.[104]

Near-infrared image of Tortola Facula, thought to be a possible

cryovolcano

False-color VIMS image of the possible cryovolcano Sotra Patera,

combined with a 3D map based on radar data, showing 1000meter-high peaks and a 1500-meter-deep crater.

resemble those of early Earth, though at a much lower

temperature. The detection of argon-40 in the atmosphere in 2004 indicated that volcanoes had spawned
plumes of lava composed of water and ammonia.[97]
Global maps of the lake distribution on Titans surface
revealed that there is not enough surface methane to account for its continued presence in its atmosphere, and
thus that a signicant portion must be added through volcanic processes.[98]
Still, there is a paucity of surface features that can be unambiguously interpreted as cryovolcanoes.[99] One of the
rst of such features revealed by Cassini radar observations in 2004, called Ganesa Macula, resembles the geographic features called "pancake domes" found on Venus,
and was thus initially thought to be cryovolcanic in origin,

A mountain range measuring 150 kilometres (93 mi)

long, 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide and 1.5 kilometres (0.93
mi) high was also discovered by Cassini in 2006. This
range lies in the southern hemisphere and is thought to
be composed of icy material and covered in methane
snow. The movement of tectonic plates, perhaps inuenced by a nearby impact basin, could have opened a
gap through which the mountains material upwelled.[105]
Prior to Cassini, scientists assumed that most of the topography on Titan would be impact structures, yet these
ndings reveal that similar to Earth, the mountains were
formed through geological processes.[106] In December
2010, the Cassini mission team announced the most compelling possible cryovolcano yet found. Named Sotra Patera, it is one in a chain of at least three mountains, each
between 1000 and 1500 m in height, several of which are
topped by large craters. The ground around their bases
appears to be overlaid by frozen lava ows.[107]
If volcanism on Titan really exists, the hypothesis is that it
is driven by energy released from the decay of radioactive
elements within the mantle, as it is on Earth.[28] Magma
on Earth is made of liquid rock, which is less dense than
the solid rocky crust through which it erupts. Because
ice is less dense than water, Titans watery magma would
be denser than its solid icy crust. This means that cryovolcanism on Titan would require a large amount of
additional energy to operate, possibly via tidal exing
from nearby Saturn.[28] Alternatively, the pressure necessary to drive the cryovolcanoes may be caused by ice
I underplating Titans outer shell. The low-pressure
ice, overlaying a liquid layer of ammonium sulfate, ascends buoyantly, and the unstable system can produce
dramatic plume events. Titan is resurfaced through the
process by grain-sized ice and ammonium sulfate ash,
which helps produce a wind-shaped landscape and sand
dune features.[108]

9
In 2008 Jerey Moore (planetary geologist of Ames Research Center) proposed an alternate view of Titans geology. Noting that no volcanic features had been unambiguously identied on Titan so far, he asserted that Titan
is a geologically dead world, whose surface is shaped only
by impact cratering, uvial and eolian erosion, mass wasting and other exogenic processes. According to this hypothesis, methane is not emitted by volcanoes but slowly
diuses out of Titans cold and sti interior. Ganesa
Macula may be an eroded impact crater with a dark dune
in the center. The mountainous ridges observed in some
regions can be explained as heavily degraded scarps of
large multi-ring impact structures or as a result of the
global contraction due to the slow cooling of the interior. Even in this case Titan may still have an internal
ocean made of the eutectic waterammonia mixture with
the temperature of 176 K (97 C), which is low enough
to be explained by the decay of radioactive elements in
the core. The bright Xanadu terrain may be a degraded
heavily cratered terrain similar to that observed on the
surface of Callisto. Indeed, were it not for its lack of an
atmosphere, Callisto could serve as a model for Titans
geology in this scenario. Jerey Moore even called Titan
Callisto with weather.[99][109]

7.4

Dark terrain

telescopes in the early 2000s, large regions of dark terrain

were revealed straddling Titans equator.[110] Prior to the
arrival of Cassini, these regions were thought to be seas of
organic matter like tar or liquid hydrocarbons.[111] Radar
images captured by the Cassini spacecraft have instead
revealed some of these regions to be extensive plains covered in longitudinal sand dunes, up to 330 ft (100 m)
high[112] about a kilometer wide, and tens to hundreds
of kilometers long.[113] The longitudinal (or linear) dunes
are presumed to be formed by moderately variable winds
that either follow one mean direction or alternate between
two dierent directions. Dunes of this type are always
aligned with average wind direction. In the case of Titan, steady zonal (eastward) winds combine with variable
tidal winds (approximately 0.5 meters per second).[114]
The tidal winds are the result of tidal forces from Saturn
on Titans atmosphere, which are 400 times stronger than
the tidal forces of the Moon on Earth and tend to drive
wind toward the equator. This wind pattern causes sand
dunes to build up in long parallel lines aligned west-toeast. The dunes break up around mountains, where the
wind direction shifts.
The sand on Titan is likely not made up of small grains
of silicates like the sand on Earth,[115] but rather might
have formed when liquid methane rained and eroded the
ice bedrock, possibly in the form of ash oods. Alternatively, the sand could also have come from organic
solids produced by photochemical reactions in Titans
atmosphere.[112][114][116] Studies of dunes composition in
May 2008 revealed that they possessed less water than
the rest of Titan, and are most likely to derive from organic material clumping together after raining onto the
surface.[117]

8 Observation and exploration

Titan is never visible to the naked eye, but can be observed through small telescopes or strong binoculars.
Amateur observation is dicult because of the proximity of Titan to Saturns brilliant globe and ring system; an
occulting bar, covering part of the eyepiece and used to
block the bright planet, greatly improves viewing.[118] Titan has a maximum apparent magnitude of +8.2,[6] and
mean opposition magnitude 8.4.[119] This compares to
+4.6[119] for the similarly sized Ganymede, in the Jovian
system.

Sand dunes in Earths Namib Desert (top), compared with dunes

in Belet on Titan

Observations of Titan prior to the space age were limited. In 1907 Spanish astronomer Josep Comas i Sol
observed limb darkening of Titan, the rst evidence that
the body has an atmosphere. In 1944 Gerard P. Kuiper
used a spectroscopic technique to detect an atmosphere
of methane.[120]

The rst probe to visit the Saturnian system was Pioneer

11 in 1979, which conrmed that Titan was probably too
In the rst images of Titans surface taken by Earth-based cold to support life.[121] It took images of Titan, includ-

10

8.1

OBSERVATION AND EXPLORATION

CassiniHuygens

Main articles: CassiniHuygens and Huygens (spacecraft)

Even with the data provided by the Voyagers, Titan
remained a body of mysterya planet-like satellite
shrouded in an atmosphere that makes detailed observation dicult. The intrigue that had surrounded Titan
since the 17th-century observations of Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Cassini was gratied by a spacecraft
named in their honor.

Voyager 1 view of haze on Titans limb (1980)

The CassiniHuygens spacecraft reached Saturn on July

1, 2004, and began the process of mapping Titans surface by radar. A joint project of the European Space
Agency (ESA) and NASA, CassiniHuygens has proved
a very successful mission. The Cassini probe ew by Titan on October 26, 2004, and took the highest-resolution
images ever of Titans surface, at only 1,200 kilometres
(750 mi), discerning patches of light and dark that would
be invisible to the human eye. Huygens landed[124] on Titan on January 14, 2005, discovering that many of its surface features seem to have been formed by uids at some
point in the past.[125] On July 22, 2006, Cassini made its
rst targeted, close y-by at 950 kilometres (590 mi) from
Titan; the closest yby was at 880 kilometres (550 mi) on
June 21, 2010.[126] Present liquid on the surface has been
found in abundance in the north polar region, in the form
of many lakes and seas discovered by Cassini.[76] Titan
is the most distant body from Earth[127] and the second
moon in the Solar System to have a space probe land on
its surface.
8.1.1

Huygens landing site

Cassini's Titan yby radio signal studies (artists concept)

ing Titan and Saturn together in mid to late 1979.[122]

The quality was soon surpassed by the two Voyagers, but
Pioneer 11 provided data for everyone to prepare with.
Titan was examined by both Voyager 1 and 2 in 1980
and 1981, respectively. Voyager 1's course was diverted
specically to make a closer pass of Titan. Unfortunately,
the craft did not possess any instruments that could penetrate Titans haze, an unforeseen factor. Many years later,
intensive digital processing of images taken through Voyager 1's orange lter did reveal hints of the light and dark
features now known as Xanadu and Shangri-la,[123] but
by then they had already been observed in the infrared by
the Hubble Space Telescope. Voyager 2 took only a cursory look at Titan. The Voyager 2 team had the option
of steering the spacecraft to take a detailed look at Titan
or to use another trajectory that would allow it to visit Huygens in situ image from Titans surfacethe only
Uranus and Neptune. Given the lack of surface features image from the surface of a moon or a planet farther
away than Mars
seen by Voyager 1, the latter plan was implemented.

8.2

Proposed or conceptual missions

11

Same with dierent data processing

The Huygens probe landed just o the easternmost tip of
a bright region now called Adiri. The probe photographed
pale hills with dark rivers running down to a dark plain.
Current understanding is that the hills (also referred to
as highlands) are composed mainly of water ice. Dark
organic compounds, created in the upper atmosphere by
the ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, may rain from Titans atmosphere. They are washed down the hills with
the methane rain and are deposited on the plains over geological time scales.[128]

The balloon proposed for the Titan Saturn System Mission (artistic rendition)

joint NASA/ESA proposal for exploration of Saturn's

moons.[130] It envisions a hot-air balloon oating in Titans atmosphere for six months. It was competing against
the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) proposal
After landing, Huygens photographed a dark plain covfor funding. In February 2009 it was announced that
ered in small rocks and pebbles, which are composed of
ESA/NASA had given the EJSM mission priority ahead
[128]
water ice.
The two rocks just below the middle of the
of the TSSM.[131]
image on the right are smaller than they may appear: the
left-hand one is 15 centimeters across, and the one in the There was also a notional concept for a Titan Mare Excenter is 4 centimeters across, at a distance of about 85 plorer (TiME), which would be a low-cost lander that
centimeters from Huygens. There is evidence of erosion would splash down in a lake in Titans northern hemiat the base of the rocks, indicating possible uvial activ- sphere and oat on the surface of the lake for 3 to 6
ity. The surface is darker than originally expected, con- months.[132][133][134]
sisting of a mixture of water and hydrocarbon ice. The Another mission to Titan proposed in early 2012 by Jason
assumption is that the soil visible in the images is pre- Barnes, a scientist at a University of Idaho, is the Aerial
cipitation from the hydrocarbon haze above.
Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance
In March 2007, NASA, ESA, and COSPAR decided to
name the Huygens landing site the Hubert Curien Memorial Station in memory of the former president of the
ESA.[129]

8.2

Proposed or conceptual missions

There have been several conceptual missions proposed in

recent years for returning a robotic space probe to Titan.
Initial conceptual work has been completed for such missions by NASA, the ESA and JPL. At present, none of
these proposals have become funded missions.
The Titan Saturn System Mission (TSSM) was a

(AVIATR): an unmanned plane (or drone) that would y

through Titans atmosphere and take high-denition images of the surface of Titan. NASA did not approve the
requested $715 million, and the future of the project is
uncertain.[135][136][137]
Another lake lander project was proposed in late 2012
by the Spanish-based private engineering rm SENER
and the Centro de Astrobiologa in Madrid. The concept probe is called Titan Lake In-situ Sampling Propelled Explorer (TALISE).[138][139] The major dierence
compared to the TiME probe would be that TALISE
is envisioned with its own propulsion system and would
therefore not be limited to simply oating on the lake it
splashes down on.

12

9 PREBIOTIC CONDITIONS AND SEARCH FOR LIFE

Prebiotic conditions and search

for life

Main article: Life on Titan

See also: Planetary habitability
Titan is thought to be a prebiotic environment rich in
complex organic chemistry[48] with a possible subsurface
liquid ocean serving as a biotic environment.[140][141][142]
Although the CassiniHuygens mission was not equipped
to provide evidence for biosignatures or complex organic
compounds, it showed an environment on Titan that is
similar, in some ways, to ones theorized for the primordial Earth.[143] Scientists surmise that the atmosphere of
early Earth was similar in composition to the current atmosphere on Titan, with the important exception of a lack
of water vapor on Titan.[144]

9.1

Formation of complex molecules

The MillerUrey experiment and several following experiments have shown that with an atmosphere similar to
that of Titan and the addition of UV radiation, complex
molecules and polymer substances like tholins can be generated. The reaction starts with dissociation of nitrogen
and methane, forming hydrogen cyanide and acetylene.
Further reactions have been studied extensively.[145]
In October 2010, Sarah Horst of the University of Arizona reported nding the ve nucleotide basesbuilding
blocks of DNA and RNAamong the many compounds
produced when energy was applied to a combination of
gases like those in Titans atmosphere. Horst also found
amino acids, the building blocks of protein. She said it
was the rst time nucleotide bases and amino acids had
been found in such an experiment without liquid water
being present.[146]
On April 3, 2013, NASA reported that complex organic
chemicals could arise on Titan based on studies simulating the atmosphere of Titan.[48]

9.2

Possible subsurface habitats

Laboratory simulations have led to the suggestion that

enough organic material exists on Titan to start a chemical evolution analogous to what is thought to have started
life on Earth. Although the analogy assumes the presence
of liquid water for longer periods than is currently observable, several theories suggest that liquid water from
an impact could be preserved under a frozen isolation
layer.[147] It has also been theorized that liquid-ammonia
oceans could exist deep below the surface.[140][148] Another model suggests an ammoniawater solution as much
as 200 kilometres (120 mi) deep beneath a water-ice crust
with conditions that, although extreme by terrestrial stan-

dards, are such that life could indeed survive.[141] Heat

transfer between the interior and upper layers would be
critical in sustaining any subsurface oceanic life.[140] Detection of microbial life on Titan would depend on its
biogenic eects. That the atmospheric methane and nitrogen might be of biological origin has been examined,
for example.[141]

9.3 Methane and life at the surface

See also: Hypothetical types of biochemistry
It has been suggested that life could exist in the lakes of
liquid methane on Titan, just as organisms on Earth live
in water.[149] Such creatures would inhale H2 in place of
O2 , metabolize it with acetylene instead of glucose, and
exhale methane instead of carbon dioxide.[142][149]
Although all living things on Earth (including
methanogens) use liquid water as a solvent, it is
speculated that life on Titan might instead use a liquid
hydrocarbon, such as methane or ethane.[150] Water is
a stronger solvent than methane.[151] However, water is
also more chemically reactive, and can break down large
organic molecules through hydrolysis.[150] A life-form
whose solvent was a hydrocarbon would not face the risk
of its biomolecules being destroyed in this way.[150]
In 2005, astrobiologist Chris McKay argued that if
methanogenic life did exist on the surface of Titan, it
would likely have a measurable eect on the mixing ratio in the Titan troposphere: levels of hydrogen and
acetylene would be measurably lower than otherwise
expected.[149]
In 2010, Darrell Strobel, from Johns Hopkins University,
identied a greater abundance of molecular hydrogen in
the upper atmospheric layers of Titan compared to the
lower layers, arguing for a downward ow at a rate of
roughly 1025 molecules per second and disappearance of
hydrogen near Titans surface; as Strobel noted, his ndings were in line with the eects McKay had predicted
if methanogenic life-forms were present.[149][151][152] The
same year, another study showed low levels of acetylene
on Titans surface, which were interpreted by McKay as
consistent with the hypothesis of organisms consuming
hydrocarbons.[151] Although restating the biological hypothesis, he cautioned that other explanations for the hydrogen and acetylene ndings are more likely: the possibilities of yet unidentied physical or chemical processes (e.g., a surface catalyst accepting hydrocarbons
or hydrogen), or aws in the current models of material
ow.[142] Composition data and transport models need to
be substantiated, etc. Even so, despite saying that a nonbiological catalytic explanation would be less startling
than a biological one, McKay noted that the discovery
of a catalyst eective at 95 K (180 C) would still be
signicant.[142]

13
As NASA notes in its news article on the June 2010 ndings: To date, methane-based life forms are only hypothetical. Scientists have not yet detected this form of life
anywhere.[151] As the NASA statement also says: some
scientists believe these chemical signatures bolster the argument for a primitive, exotic form of life or precursor to
life on Titans surface.[151]

10 See also
Colonization of Titan
Lakes of Titan
Life on Titan
Saturns moons in ction

9.4

Obstacles

Despite these biological possibilities, there are

formidable obstacles to life on Titan, and any analogy to Earth is inexact. At a vast distance from the
Sun, Titan is frigid, and its atmosphere lacks CO2 .
At Titans surface, water exists only in solid form.
Because of these diculties, scientists such as Jonathan
Lunine have viewed Titan less as a likely habitat for
life, than as an experiment for examining theories on
the conditions that prevailed prior to the appearance of
life on Earth.[153] Although life itself may not exist, the
prebiotic conditions on Titan and the associated organic
chemistry remain of great interest in understanding the
early history of the terrestrial biosphere.[143] Using Titan
as a prebiotic experiment involves not only observation
through spacecraft, but laboratory experiment, and
chemical and photochemical modeling on Earth.[145]

9.5

Panspermia hypothesis

It is hypothesized that large asteroid and cometary impacts on Earths surface may have caused fragments of
microbe-laden rock to escape Earths gravity, suggesting
the possibility of transpermia. Calculations indicate that
a number of these would encounter many of the bodies
in the Solar System, including Titan.[154][155] On the other
hand, Jonathan Lunine has argued that any living things
in Titans cryogenic hydrocarbon lakes would need to be
so dierent chemically from Earth life that it would not
be possible for one to be the ancestor of the other.[156]

9.6

Future conditions

Titan in ction

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12 Bibliography
Coustenis, Athna; Taylor, F. W. (2008). Titan: Exploring an Earthlike World. World Scientic. ISBN
978-981-270-501-3.

13 Further reading
Lorenz, Ralph; Mitton, Jacqueline (2002). Lifting
Titans Veil: Exploring the Giant Moon of Saturn.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-79348-3.

14 External links
CassiniHuygens Mission To Saturn & Titan. Multimedia Feature Titan Virtual Tour
Titan Prole at NASAs Solar System Exploration
site
Video of Huygens descent from the ESA

19
Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations
(CICLOPS) site Titan image search
European Space Agency. (2005). ESACassini
Huygens. Retrieved March 28, 2005.
The Planetary Society (2005). TPS: Saturns moon
Titan. Retrieved March 28, 2005.
University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Lab
(2005).
Lunar and Planetary Lab The Descent Imager-Spectral Radiometer of the Cassini
Huygens Mission to Titan. Retrieved March 28,
2005.
The Alien Noise. This recording is a laboratory reconstruction of the sounds heard by Huygens microphones.
Movie of Titans rotation from the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration site
AstronomyCast: Titan Fraser Cain and Pamela Gay,
2010.
Titan nomenclature and Titan map with feature
names from the USGS planetary nomenclature page

20

15

15
15.1

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Dbenbenn, Smjg, MPF, Awolf002, Jyril, Harp, Wolfkeeper, Tom harrison, Rbs, Monedula, Karn, Alterego, Everyking, Anville, Fleminra, Curps, Michael Devore, Henry Flower, JamesHoadley, Jackbrown, Cantus, Yekrats, Python eggs, Just Another Dan, Wmahan,
ChicXulub, Patteroast, DocSigma, Dvavasour, GeneralPatton, The Singing Badger, Mustafaa, Beland, Eroica, Vanished user 1234567890,
Kaldari, Arsene, Latitude0116, Icairns, Mozzerati, Rlcantwell, Neutrality, Urhixidur, Hilarleo, Janneok, Gerrit, Walabio, Grunt, Canterbury Tail, Lacrimosus, Dyzml, Guppynsoup, Mike Rosoft, Patrickwilken, JTN, A-giau, Discospinster, Solitude, Rich Farmbrough,
Guanabot, Sys2074, Vsmith, Florian Blaschke, Moochocoogle, Paul August, SpookyMulder, TheOuthouseMouse, Bender235, ESkog, Cyclopia, AdamSolomon, Neko-chan, Pedant, RJHall, Kaszeta, Pt, Lycurgus, Huntster, Kwamikagami, Marx Gomes, Jtpnen, Worldtraveller,
PhilHibbs, Tom, RoyBoy, Bookofjude, Adambro, Viriditas, Brim, Bbartlog, Artw, Chrisvls, Matt McIrvin, Physicistjedi, Intrad, Pacier,
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Velella, Knowledge Seeker, Frankman, Ubermonkey, Evil Monkey, Tony Sidaway, Daedelus, Mike.m, Sciurin, Cmapm, C4 Diesel,
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Saberwyn, Mysid, Kortoso, Jeremy Visser, Calaschysm, Bobryuu, Jules.LT, Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry, Josh3580, Reyk, Hurricanehink, Chris Brennan, Petri Krohn, Hurricane Devon, Scoutersig, Georey.landis, Anclation, Nixer, Cromag, Ilmari Karonen, Katieh5584,
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Gilliam, Brianski, Skizzik, Richfe, Icemuon, Saros136, Chris the speller, Bluebot, Hibernian, Bob the ducq, Miguel Andrade, DHNbot, Rlevse, Trekphiler, Tsca.bot, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Shalom Yechiel, Kelvin Case, Proofreader, CrnaGora, Run!, Darwins
Bulldog, Aces lead, Caniago, Aeln, Metebelis, Polonium, Mwtoews, Joe Hedrick, Ged UK, Ohconfucius, Hanksname, Philrosenberg,
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663, Loafsta, Dispenser, Squad51, Dfoofnik, Berserkerz Crit, Spoxjox, Fountains of Bryn Mawr, Nwbeeson, Ohms law, KylieTastic,
RB972, Gemini1980, Dorftrottel, VolkovBot, CWii, Camster, Alexandria, TXiKiBoT, Dojarca, Drhtl, Muro de Aguas, Pants123, Thecompkid, Rei-bot, Z.E.R.O., Hernando1234, Sankalpdravid, Yksin, Lambdoid, Mcl-liam, Pleiades Two, Seraphim, Leafyplant, Jackfork,
Noformation, Cremepu222, BotKung, Wikiisawesome, Wtt, Girona7, MacTire, Comrade Tux, ShaunGW, Nmhall, Brianga, Thegreatferret36, AlleborgoBot, Shinypants101, Sfmammamia, EmxBot, SieBot, StAnselm, Ivan tambuk, Moonriddengirl, PeterPredator, Caltas,
Twinkler4, Deathgleaner, Rubble pile, Megan.rw1, Rackshea, Hannahbanana735, Keilana, RadicalOne, Flyer22, Tungsten92, Lightmouse,
Murlough23, Astroguy2, OKBot, Maelgwnbot, LonelyMarble, Sean.hoyland, Maralia, Kalidasa 777, C0nanPayne, Velvetron, Martarius, Sfan00 IMG, Elassint, ClueBot, Dead10ck, Sharkyx, Gonzomalan, Drmies, Piledhigheranddeeper, SaturnCat, FrancescoA, Excirial,
Ladne, Blkillgren, Hargitai, NuclearWarfare, Njardarlogar, Couchman93, Mtsmallwood, Stepheng3, Another Believer, Berean Hunter,
Johnuniq, SuddenFrost, Rreagan007, SilvonenBot, Mifter, Good Olfactory, Bradventure, Sstarin, Roentgenium111, Thright, DOI bot,
Atethnekos, AcademyAD, Ashanda, 37ophiuchi, Obsidianspider, ChenzwBot, LinkFA-Bot, 84user, Numbo3-bot, Craigsjones, DubaiTerminator, Tide rolls, Lightbot, Catwoman7770, Pietrow, , Luckas-bot, Yobot, Rccoms, Tbayboy, AnomieBOT, Archon
2488, Jim1138, Materialscientist, Citation bot, Astor14, Sharst, ArthurBot, Tamiera, LilHelpa, Xqbot, 4twenty42o, Lionboy-Renae, Woodstock aeb, Ataleh, Alumnum, Ute in DC, RibotBOT, Enceladusgeysers, Charvest, 78.26, The Wiki ghost, Mangst, Joaquin008, Silbad,
Fotaun, FrescoBot, Originalwana, Tranletuhan, Sae1962, Citation bot 1, Pinethicket, Adlerbot, MastiBot, Xiglofre, Mikespedia, Tlhslobus,
Full-date unlinking bot, Fartherred, SkyMachine, IVAN3MAN, FoxBot, Double sharp, Krassotkin, Callanecc, Aoidh, Reaper Eternal,
Diannaa, Tbhotch, Stroppolo, Sideways713, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, RjwilmsiBot, Bento00, Wembwandt, DASHBot, EmausBot, Qurq,
Racerx11, Slightsmile, Tommy2010, , K6ka, Eltomo85, AvicBot, Josve05a, Other Choices, DrZygote214, Hevron1998,
H3llBot, Eniagrom, Rohedin, RIPGC, L1A1 FAL, Donner60, EvenGreenerFish, Somekidnamedalex, Terra Novus, Whoop whoop pull up,
ClueBot NG, Orian90, Xession, Telemachus.forward, Baseball Watcher, Braincricket, O.Koslowski, Alpha7248, Widr, Helpful Pixie Bot,
Helvitica Bold, Bibcode Bot, WNYY98, Lowercase sigmabot, BG19bot, Guy vandegrift, Kndimov, Mynameisnoted, MusikAnimal, AvocatoBot, Cncmaster, Hurriquake, Pizzamaker142857, Mejoribus, Newtonsghost, Tycho Magnetic Anomaly-1, Steeldragon7, Hamish59,
21ds12, Klilidiplomus, The Uncyclopedian, 1209love, BattyBot, Miszatomic, Youyou870, U-95, Arcandam, Baotdutyso, Shadeofpoop, EuroCarGT, Weegee82, Kelvinsong, Dexbot, Br'er Rabbit, Mogism, Inayity, Pluto and Beyond, Lugia2453, Sidelight12, RandomLittleHelper,
Reatlas, Fycafterpro, F6Zman, Greengreengreenred, Voidz, Desired Username 1, Eagle3399, Green1jeet, Articial123, Sputnikhead72,
Noyster, Joshuafrank3, Dmawkp, 7Sidz, TheRedJay37, Aakash.lahoti14, Monkbot, Pancakes78, Conner129, Jayakumar RG, Djheming,
Austin fridenberg, Autobhan-Suh, Penguins-twerk, Pabnau, Wikiwookie2014, Pussyinboots, Jklinm, Mithil..10, Hornzaladyboi117 and
Anonymous: 582

15.2

15.2

Images

21

Images

File:Christiaan_Huygens-painting.jpeg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Christiaan_Huygens-painting.

jpeg License: Public domain Contributors: http://ressources2.techno.free.fr/informatique/sites/inventions/inventions.html Original artist:
Caspar Netscher (circa 16391684)
File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:Cscr-featured.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/Cscr-featured.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original
artist: ?
File:He1523a.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/He1523a.jpg License: Attribution Contributors: http:
//www.solstation.com/x-objects/he1523.htm Original artist: ESO, European Southern Observatory
File:Huygens_surface_color.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Huygens_surface_color.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07232 (direct link) Original artist: ESA/NASA/JPL/University
of Arizona
File:Huygens_surface_color_sr.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Huygens_surface_color_sr.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Combined the pre-processed raw triplets #773, #931, #948, #961, #985 and #991 taken from [1] using
the PhotoAcute Studio[2] software and overlayed the colored image taken from [3]. Original artist: Andrey Pivovarov
File:Liquid_lakes_on_titan.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Liquid_lakes_on_titan.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09102 Original artist: NASA / JPL-Caltech / USGS
File:Map_of_Titan_-_April_2011.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Map_of_Titan_-_April_2011.
jpg License: Public domain Contributors: CICLOPS Original artist: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
File:Montagem_Sistema_Solar.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Montagem_Sistema_Solar.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?Category=Planets&IM_ID=10164 Original artist:
NASA
File:NASA-Cassini-Saturn-TitanFlybyTests-20140617.jpg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/
NASA-Cassini-Saturn-TitanFlybyTests-20140617.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/cassini/
20140617/cassini20140617-full.jpg Original artist: NASA/JPL-Caltech
File:PIA08391_Epimetheus,_Rings_and_Titan.jpg Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/PIA08391_
Epimetheus%2C_Rings_and_Titan.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA08391 Original
artist: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
File:PIA10008_Seas_and_Lakes_on_Titan.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/PIA10008_Seas_and_
Lakes_on_Titan.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/?IDNumber=PIA10008 Original artist:
NASA / JPL-Caltech / USGS
File:PIA12481_Titan_specular_reflection.jpg Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/PIA12481_Titan_
specular_reflection.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA12481 Original artist:
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/DLR
File:PIA18420-Titan-MethaneClouds-20140722.gif
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/
PIA18420-Titan-MethaneClouds-20140722.gif License:
Public domain Contributors:
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/
PIA18420_200.gif Original artist: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
File:PIA18430-SaturnMoon-Titan-EvolvingFeature-20140821.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/
PIA18430-SaturnMoon-Titan-EvolvingFeature-20140821.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/
jpeg/PIA18430.jpg Original artist: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Cornell
File:PIA18431-SaturnMoon-Titan-SouthPoleVortex-Cloud-20121129.jpg Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/c/c1/PIA18431-SaturnMoon-Titan-SouthPoleVortex-Cloud-20121129.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors:
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA18431.jpg Original artist:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/University of Arizona/SSI/Leiden
Observatory and SRON
File:Rhea_true_color.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Rhea_true_color.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06578 Original artist: NASA/JPL
File:Solar_system.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Solar_system.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Sotra_Facula.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Sotra_Facula.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13695 Original artist: NASA/JPL
File:Sound-icon.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Sound-icon.svg License:
Derivative work from Silsor's versio Original artist: Crystal SVG icon set

LGPL Contributors:

File:Speakerlink-new.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Speakerlink-new.svg License: CC0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Kelvinsong
File:Specular_Spectacular_(PIA18432).jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Specular_Spectacular_
%28PIA18432%29.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA18432
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18432
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/display.cfm?News_ID=48359
Original artist: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona / University of Idaho
File:TSSM-TandEM-Montgolfiere.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/TSSM-TandEM-Montgolfiere.
jpg License: Public domain Contributors: TSSM NASA/ESA joint summary report Original artist: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Corby
Waste

22

15

TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

File:Titan{}s_orbit.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Titan%27s_orbit.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0

Contributors: Vectorized in Inkscape by Mysid from Image:Titan{}s orbit.jpg. Original artist: Made by :en:User:Rubble pile|Rubble
pile]] in Celestia, vectorized by Mysid in Inkscape.
File:Titan{}s_thick_haze_layer-picture_from_voyager1.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Titan%
27s_thick_haze_layer-picture_from_voyager1.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Titan-Complex_'Anti-greenhouse'.jpg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Titan-Complex_
%27Anti-greenhouse%27.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Titan-Earth-PolarClouds-20141024.jpg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/
Titan-Earth-PolarClouds-20141024.jpg License:
Public domain Contributors:
http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/
nasa-identifies-ice-cloud-above-cruising-altitude-on-titan/ (image link) Original artist: Titan (L): NASA/JPL/U. of Ariz./LPGNantes
Earth (R): NASA/GSFC/M. Schoeberl
File:Titan-SaturnMoon-Maps-TraceGases-20141022.jpg
Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/
Titan-SaturnMoon-Maps-TraceGases-20141022.jpg License:
CC-BY-3.0 Contributors:
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/
thumbnails/image/titanmoleculesimage.jpg Original artist: NRAO/AUI/NSF
File:Titan2005.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Titan2005.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Original le from JPL Photojournal. Additional editing by Kaldari (seams removed, distortion corrected, missing corner extrapolated).
Original artist: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
File:Titan_(moon).ogg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Titan_%28moon%29.ogg License: CC-BY-SA3.0 Contributors: Derivative of Titan (moon) at Wikipedia Original artist: Mangst
File:Titan_2009-01_ISS_polar_maps.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Titan_2009-01_ISS_polar_
maps.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: File:TitanMapJan2009.jpg, http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11146 Original
artist: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
File:Titan_Earth_Moon_Comparison.png Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Titan_Earth_Moon_
Comparison.png License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Titan_S._polar_lake_changes_2004-5.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Titan_S._polar_lake_
changes_2004-5.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://ciclops.org/view/5458/Changes_in_Titans_Lakes Original artist:
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
File:Titan_and_rings_PIA14909.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Titan_and_rings_PIA14909.jpg
License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14909 Original artist: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
File:Titan_dunes_crop.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Titan_dunes_crop.png License: Public domain Contributors: File:Titan dunes.jpg Original artist: NASA/JSC - uppper photo; NASA/JPL - lower photo
File:Titan_globe_m.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Titan_globe_m.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
Contributors: Own work (Original text: Image/upload by author) Original artist: Hargitai at English Wikipedia
File:Titan_in_natural_color_Cassini.jpg Source:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Titan_in_natural_color_
Cassini.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06230 (cropped and rotated from the
original)
Original artist: This image or video was catalogued by Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the United States National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) under Photo ID: PIA06230.
File:Titan_multi_spectral_overlay.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Titan_multi_spectral_overlay.jpg License: Public
domain Contributors: Original artist: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

File:Titan_poster.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Titan_poster.svg License: CC-BY-3.0 Contributors: Own work Original

artist: Kelvinsong

File:Titancrater.jpg Source:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Titancrater.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:

photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09175
Original artist: NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech / ASI (original uploader was Serendipodous at en.wikipedia)

http://

File:Top_of_Atmosphere.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Top_of_Atmosphere.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?mission=ISS013&roll=E&frame=54329 Original artist: NASA Earth Observatory

File:Tortola_Facula_in_infrared.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Tortola_Facula_in_infrared.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07962 (enlarged 200% and cropped to focus on Tortola) Original artist: NASA/JPL/University
of Arizona / LPL; modied by User:Huntster

File:Vortex_on_saturn{}s_moon_titan.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Vortex_on_saturn%27s_moon_titan.png License: Public domain Contributors: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120724.html Original artist: NASA/JPL, et. al.

15.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

NASA planetary photojournal, PIA06139