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Methane Rain and Lakes on Titan

On Titan, methane acts as the primary liquid, with rain consisting of liquid methane that follows a hydrological cycle similar to Earth's. Titan's raindrops are larger and fall slower due to its moon-like gravity, and extensive lakes and seas contain significantly more hydrocarbon liquid than Earth's reserves. Observations from the Cassini spacecraft have indicated rainfall at Titan's north pole, while the Huygens probe revealed a solid surface at the center, suggesting a complex hydrological system.

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31 views2 pages

Methane Rain and Lakes on Titan

On Titan, methane acts as the primary liquid, with rain consisting of liquid methane that follows a hydrological cycle similar to Earth's. Titan's raindrops are larger and fall slower due to its moon-like gravity, and extensive lakes and seas contain significantly more hydrocarbon liquid than Earth's reserves. Observations from the Cassini spacecraft have indicated rainfall at Titan's north pole, while the Huygens probe revealed a solid surface at the center, suggesting a complex hydrological system.

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sk.mohammadshafi3044
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Rain on Titan:

 Here, methane plays the role of water.

 On Titan, rain drops consist of liquid methane instead of water.

 It also follows a similar hydrological cycle to that on earth.

 Titan have gravity which is equal to our moon. So, raindrops fall much slower than on earth.

Roughly, 6 times slower.

 Titan's rain drops which contains Methane are 50 percent larger than the raindrops on earth.

 Researchers from the University of Idaho in Moscow have used Cassini's observations to study

rainfall on Titan's north pole. They noticed that the light is reflecting down at the Titan's north

pole indicating the presence of rainfall.

Lakes:

 Titan experiences rainfall. But instead of water, Titan's clouds pour liquid methane.

 The rain cycle works by the evaporation from surface lakes and seas.

 Titan's largest sea, Kraken Mare, covers about 400,000 square kilometers.

 Several hundred lakes and seas have been observed, with each estimated to contain more

hydrocarbon liquid than Earth's oil and gas reserves. The dark dunes which run along the

equator contain organic substances which are several hundred times more than Earth's organic

substances.

 The visible lakes and seas of Titan contain about 300 times the volume of Earth's oil reserves.

 Lakes were not found near Titan's center. Huygens probe landed there. The pictures taken by the

probe as it fell showed no open areas of liquid, but it showed rivers that

 had dried. It was first thought that dark areas near the center of Titan could be a lake, but the

probe landed in the center, and it is solid without any liquid. Scientists believethe Huygens probe

may have landed on a large pebble like thing.


 Over the course of a Saturnian year, liquid is transported from the equatorial region to the poles,

where it falls as rain. This might be the reason for the equatorial region's relative dryness.

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