Scientists studying the weather and climate of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, have reported a significant seasonal variation in its energy budget – that is the amount of solar energy absorbed by the celestial body and the thermal energy it emits.
Scientists studying the weather and climate of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, have reported a significant seasonal variation in its energy budget – that is the amount of solar energy absorbed by the celestial body and the thermal energy it emits.
The findings, reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, could lead to new insights about climate on Earth.
Titan is the only body in the solar system, other than Earth, with a significant atmosphere and liquid surface lakes. “By studying Titan, we can learn a lot about Earth,” said Ellen C. Creecy, a doctoral student in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston and first author of the paper.
There are significant differences between the two, as well, she said. The surface liquid on Titan is liquid methane, rather than water, for example. And it takes Saturn and its moons far longer to complete an orbit around the moon.
Read more at University of Houston
Image: Researchers used data collected from the Cassini mission between 2004 and 2017 to learn more about climate on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. (Credit: NASA/Cassini/Kevin Gill)
