When was titan discovered

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The important thing about being a scientist or an engineer is learning how to think critically, learning how to be creative, learning problem solving and learning how to learn. Explore in 3D. You can see Titan the way different instruments on the Cassini spacecraft saw it. You can even see how the inside of Titan might be layered based on Cassini data. For example, watch the arrival at Saturn on July 1st, , or see Cassini launch the Huygens probe and follow Huygens to Titan.

You can see where Cassini was when it captured iconic images, and you can compare the real images to the visualization. You can even ride along with Cassini during its final 22 orbits, in which it zips between Saturn and its rings—a place no spacecraft had explored before. And you can watch these things happen at actual speed, or much, much faster.

More about Suzanne "Suzy" Dodd. More about Robert Mitchell. It landed and sent back images of the surface as well as measurements of Titan's atmosphere. Cassini was then able to map Titan's surface using radar, as was done on the Magellan mission to Venus. As amazing as these images were, they only posed more questions than answers. But thanks to Cassini, we have now witnessed some of the most detailed images yet of the ringed planet and her moons.

Because Titan has a thick atmosphere containing hydrocarbons, scientists had long theorized that there could be lakes of liquid methane and ethane on its surface. When the Voyager spacecraft encountered Titan in and , they were unable to see beneath the moon's thick layer of clouds.

The radar instruments were able to see through the clouds and map the moon's surface. Radar images taken in proved the existence of liquid lakes on Titan. These are the first liquid lakes seen anywhere in the Solar System besides Earth.

The largest of these newly discovered lakes is larger than the Great Lakes on Earth. In addition to the lakes, channels resembling rivers were observed.

This provided strong evidence of liquid rain. Scientists believe that rain composed of liquid methane and ethane regularly falls across Titan's surface. In fact, the weather on Titan may be very similar to weather patterns on Earth. To search this site, type your search word s in the box below and click the search button:. All rights reserved. Content from this Website may not be used in any form without written permission from the site owner.

Over its 13 years orbiting Saturn, Cassini made encounters with the moon, some close and others more distant. It is thought that conditions on Titan could make the moon more habitable in the far future. If the sun increases its temperature 6 billion years from now and becomes a red giant star, Titan's temperature could increase enough for stable oceans to exist on the surface, according to some models.

If this happens, conditions in Titan could be similar to Earth's, allowing conditions favorable for some forms of life. Saturn's Cold Moon Fascinates Scientists ]. Experiments on Earth suggest that Titan could be more habitable than previously thought. Complex organic chemicals once thought to hover high in the atmosphere may lie closer to the surface than estimated. The same kind of light that drives biological chemistry on Earth's surface could also drive chemistry on Titan, even though Titan receives far less light from the sun and is much colder.

Titan is not a sleeping giant in the lower atmosphere, but at least half awake in its chemical activity. Titan's name comes from Greek mythology. The Titans were elder gods who ruled the universe before the Olympians came to power, according to the Theoi Project website. The moon was discovered by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens in Huygens was the first human-built object to land on Titan's surface.

Titan's diameter is 50 percent larger than that of Earth's moon. Titan is larger than the planet Mercury but is half the mass of the planet. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more!

And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community space. Nola Taylor Tillman is a contributing writer for Space. She loves all things space and astronomy-related, and enjoys the opportunity to learn more. In her free time, she homeschools her four children.