TITAN
Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest observed satellite in the galaxy, being second only to Ganymede yet larger than Mercury [1]. It is the only Satellite in the solar system to have a significant atmosphere that contains more than just traces of elements. It is of interest to astronomers to see how an atmosphere can be formed and how abundances of certain compounds can appear without biological activity. [2] Titan may be suitable for certain types of biology and is analogous to Earth in many ways.
When Titan was first observed, it was thought to be the largest satellite in the Solar System. The images taken of Titan did not account for the atmosphere, so it was considered to be a part of the satellites radius. The atmosphere is denser than Earths being 1.5 bar at the surface. Combined with the low gravity of the planet, this thick atmosphere would make aeronautics very efficient if humans colonised Titan, even allowing us to flap our “wings” and fly. [4]
The atmosphere appears as a dark orange haze above the surface. The main constituent, like on Earth, is Nitrogen (92% on Titan and 78.08% on Earth) [5] and contrasting Jupiter and Saturn whose atmospheres are comprised mainly of Ammonia (NH3). The Haze itself is made of long chain hydrocarbons which would not be expected to be found in Titans atmosphere. The atmosphere of Titan is very turbulent like those of Jupiter and Saturn, so it can be assumed that the atmosphere is well mixed. Being well mixed, it would be expected that the atmosphere is in chemical equilibrium, and if this is true the only hydrocarbon found should be Methane with trace of other hydrocarbons, but this is not true in the haze of Titan. In terms of life, one of the conditions is ...
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...grow food (such as plants) photosynthesis would not be a viable method, so other energy sources would be required.
Other forms of life?
If Titan doesn’t appear to be a suitable environment for Carbon based life, can any of form of life be supported? One of the more suitable candidates is silicon based life with methane as a solvent.
[1] - http://web.archive.org/web/20051202030828/http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features/saturn-story/moons.cfm
[2] - Rothery, David A.. "Titan." An introduction to astrobiology. Rev. 2011 ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. 171 - 198. Print.
[3] -
[4] - http://what-if.xkcd.com/30/
[5] - http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html
[6 temp] - Darnell, James E., Harvey F. Lodish, and David Baltimore. Molecular cell biology. 4th ed. New York: Scientific American Books :, 1990. Print.
The Sirens of Titan Marek Vit "It took us that long to realize that a purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved." (Vonnegut:220) The Sirens of Titan is Kurt Vonnegut's second novel. He has written it in 1959, seven years after his previous Player Piano. It has been described as a pure science fiction novel and, after only one reading, it really can be considered to be one. The intricate plot and fascinating detail may obscure the serious intent of the novel.
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The film Remember the Titans, directed by Boaz Yakin, set in 1971, is about a high school football team who are forced to integrate and overcome their racial prejudice. An important character is Gary Bertier as throughout the film he changes and strays away from his prejudice manner and becomes a fair and promising leader that overcomes conflict that lies beneath the segregated community.
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“Photosynthesis (literally, “synthesis from light”) is a metabolic process by which the energy of sunlight is captured and used to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) into carbohydrates (which is represented as a six-carbon sugar, C6H12O6) and oxygen gas (O2)” (BioPortal, n.d., p. 190).
Cain, M. L., Urry, L. A., & Reece, J. B. (2010). Campbell Biology. Benjamin Cummings.
Research News Planetary Scientists are Seeing the Unseeable Richard A. Kerr Science, New Series, Vol. 235, No. 2 -. 4784. The. Jan. 2, 1987, pp. 113-117. 29-31. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Stable URL:
The gas giants are a collection of planets in our solar system. As can be told from their name, they are mostly composed of differing mixtures of gases and ices. The gas and ice composition in question varies among the different planets. This mix of gases gives much of the planets an extremely thick atmosphere. At the very center of a gas giant is a core of liquid heavy metals. The gas giants are also called Jovian planets, taken from the largest planet in our solar system: Jupiter. Due to the fact the the majority of a gas giant planet is gas, the planet isn’t very dense and therefore, very large as a result. In fact, all of the gas giants are vastly larger than all of the terrestrial planets. Another common factor of the gas giants are their large amount of moons. The terrestrial planet, Mars, has the largest amount of moons, 2. The amount of moons of Mars is dwarfed in comparison to Saturn’s and Jupiter’s moo...
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