Volcano spotted on Titan?

rlb2 · Dec 13, 2006

If Titan were Earth, these mountains would lie south of the equator, somewhere in New Zealand. The range is about 150 kilometers long (93 miles) and 30 kilometers (19 miles) wide and about 1.5 kilometers (nearly a mile) high. Deposits of bright, white material, which may be methane "snow" or exposures of some other organic material, lie at the top of the mountain ridges. "These mountains are probably as hard as rock, made of icy materials, and are coated with different layers of organics," said Dr. Larry Soderblom, Cassini interdisciplinary scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz. He added, "There seem to be layers and layers of various coats of organic 'paint' on top of each other on these mountain tops, almost like a painter laying the background on a canvas. Some of this organic gunk falls out of the atmosphere as rain, dust, or smog onto the valley floors and mountain tops, which are coated with dark spots that appear to be brushed, washed, scoured and moved around the surface." "The evidence is mounting that this circular feature is a volcano," said Dr. Rosaly Lopes, Cassini radar team member at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "With radar data alone, we identified it as a possible volcano, but the combination of radar and infrared makes it much clearer." Near the wrinkled, mountainous terrain are clouds in Titan's southern mid latitudes whose source continues to elude scientists. These clouds are probably methane droplets that may form when the atmosphere on Titan cools as it is pushed over the mountains by winds. http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=21449 <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Ron Bennett </div>

rlb2 · Dec 13, 2006

Here is the image, I lightened the top two images to see into the darkness and I darkened the bottom two images to see into the light areas. Here is the link to the official site. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA09033 <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Ron Bennett </div>

rlb2 · Dec 13, 2006

More images that I lightened and darkened this one is from: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA09034.jpg <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Ron Bennett </div>

sponge · Dec 13, 2006

Wonder if they could be possibly active, being that far out and if Saturns gravity is enough to let them simmer a little ,if thats what they are. Im no expert but they sure look like volcanoes <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> SPONGE </div>

3488 · Dec 13, 2006

Looks like volcanoes to me too. Perhaps they are cryovolcanoes that formed along a faultline in Titan's crust, allowing slushy ice to erupt & build into this range. Or perhaps a Titan cryovolcanic equivalent of the Tharsis ridge on Mars. Very exciting indeed. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

MeteorWayne · Dec 13, 2006

Regarding volcanic and impact crater on the earth and the moon, until Eugene Shoemaker came along few believed that even the pockmarked moon's craters were from impacts. We owe him a great debt. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

rlb2 · Dec 14, 2006

Wonder if they could be possibly active, being that far out and if Saturns gravity is enough to let them simmer a little ,if thats what they are. The Jovian moon Io is the most active world in our solar system and is tidally locked to Jupiter yet it is cold as HHHH in spots its a bit far out there too. The other moons of Jupiter tugs on it enough to heat it up. I'm sure someone is going to mention the Tidal locked position Titan is in but Saturn’s tidal effect on Titan if unlocked would be 400 times stronger than the moons is on the earth and there are several Saturian moons that could tug on it at times not as large as the Jovian moons but there is a slight tug of war going on there... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> Ron Bennett </div>

sponge · Dec 14, 2006

Thanks for your reply rlb2, ive been following titan ever since I first saw a picture of it in an old astronomy book, and I impatiently waited the 7 years it took for cassini to arrive, I find this moon to be very interesting, it would be great to learn that there might be a little activity going on there through tidal forces, and not just through cryogenic venting, interesting to find even if there is a large temperature difference between surface and underground causing the venting, if it occurs at all, I cant help myself, now im just speculating.<img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> I wanna see lava on this planet <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> SPONGE </div>

brellis · Dec 14, 2006

you've probably seen methane rain, that counts for something! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better. </div>

3488 · Dec 15, 2006

Hi all, perhaps I could throw some light on this!! Yes, it is true that the Jupiter moon Io is tidally flexed generating a huge amount of internal heat, although parts of the surface are cold indeed minus 146 Celsius, presumably where the crust is thicker. With Io you have Jupiter on one side, trying to keep Io tidally locked in a circular orbit, & then you have the large moons, Europa, Ganymede & Callisto, trying to pull Io outward, thus making Io's orbit around Jupiter slightly elliptical. Jupiter's immense gravity pulls Io out of round by about 6 miles / 10 KM, making Io slightly egg shaped with the longest axis pointed towards Jupiter. Europa , Ganymede & Callisto, try to pull the longest axis of Io towards themselves, causing the bulge to rise & fall, by hundreds of metres each day. Io must not only have the largest & most active volcanoes in the solar system, but also the most powerful 'quakes' too. These Ioquakes must make the Earth's most powerful efforts look puny. The Jupiter moon Ganymede, the largest & most massive (& the closest to Titan in both size & mass & possible interior structure & chemistry), in the solar system at one time had a period of activity, (perhaps the orbit changed & Ganymede underwent a period of tidal heating or perhaps Ganymede had more radioactive elements than we think, Ganymede is highly differentiated) with some cryovolcanic features. Ganymede also has an independant internally generated magnetosphere (the only moon in the solar system known to have one), Titan does not. Interesting piece of comparitive planetology. Yet Ganymede does not exhibit 'mountain ranges' like the one recently spotted on Titan. With Titan, the explanation of tidal influences to explain volcanism is more difficult. Titan's closest neighbours, Rhea (inward towards Saturn & Saturn's second largest moon) & Hyperion (outwards away from Saturn & only the size of a mod <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

mikeemmert · Dec 15, 2006

The general flatness of the rest of Titan seems to argue against any tectonic argument for the mountain range. Plus there is the low energy of tidal interactions as you have noted. This may well indeed be a pathological case. Titan just keeps getting stranger and stranger...

3488 · Dec 15, 2006

Hi mikeemmert. Yes you are correct. Titan is mostly smooth (typical altitude difference of only 150 metres), yet this mountain range rises ten times that. I think the same as you, it is a pathological feature at one time a large comet or asteroid hit Titan. We know this has happed elsewhere on Titan, the 440 KM diameter Circus Maximus feature, seen on an earlier pass, as well as other smaller impact craters. You are also correct in saying that Titan is getting stranger & stranger. Titan is just like, well Titan. Also it will be interesting to see, if the Saturn facing hemisphere of Titan is different from the other side, like our own moon. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

webscientist · Dec 15, 2006

Thanks for your informative analysis on tidal forces. I keep in mind that Enceladus has a very active cryovolcanism in its south pole. So, why not on Titan! Do you think there is a good snow ontop of this mountain range ? www.titanexploration.com

MeteorWayne · Dec 16, 2006

Well, the fact is it will be decades before we get such ground truth, So we'll just have to speculate with the information we have. And will continue to gain. Even though one does not wish to speculate , others do want to look at the latest info that comes in and try and figure out what it means. Such people are not saying it is 100% verifiable truth. Did you not notice the question mark at the end of Andrew's thread title? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id. I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function </div>

3488 · Dec 18, 2006

Hi there. I am not jumping to conclusions, just using what little knowledge I have to provide an explanation. I am not assuming anything. Ground Truth of this mountain range would be just great (like the Titan polar lakes, the earlier suspected cryovolcano, etc), would love to see it happen, but as MeteorWayne correctly says, that will be decades away, so we have to make do with what we have in the meantime (damn frustrating). Unfortunately the IR images are of poor quality, no fault of Cassini at all. Titan's atmosphere has turned out to be more opaque at IR wavelengths than first thought. A low radar pass will answer most points particularly the ones I raised, such as, are the mountains compressional like the Alps or the Himalayas, or are they cryovolcanic constructs made by overlapping ice flows? But unfortunately, will not tell us what they are made of. That will require Ground Truth, with a dedicated lander, no doubt about it. Landers are essential to get the ground truth, but we also need orbital / remote sensing for context & larger scale research. How could we have landed Viking 1, Viking 2, Mars Pathfinder, Spirit & Opportunity on Mars, if we had no remote sensing, or the Apollo astronauts on the moon, etc? Huygens was designed to land on a multitude of sins as she was landing 'blind' so to speak, we did not even know if the ground was even going to be level, hard, soft or even liquid!! But that is more of the exception. Had we known before launch that the landing site was a methane river channel, than Huygens would have built very differently, but we just did not know. Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> "I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before". Linda Morabito on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.http://www.launchphotography.com/ http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearthhttp://web.me.com/meridianijournal </div>

mikeemmert · Dec 18, 2006

I really like the idea of a nuclear hot air blimp as the rover for Titan. It would have the mobility to go to widely dispersed locations and I think this is crucial for a world like Titan where one region is not the same as another. A blimp could also examine different layers of the atmosphere, getting into various clouds to see what they are made out of and various winds to see which way they blow. It could initially be filled with hydrogen or helium. It doesn't really matter that it would leak, you simply design the mission around the rate of hydrogen leakage. Part of the radar set could be incorporated into the blimp to provide better angular resolution and to directly sample the atmosphere with radar waves. These types of plans exist somewhere. Advantage could be taken of the knowlege gained from Cassini/Huygens to tweak the design a little, for instance now we know to land in dry methane river channels. Then it should be able to lift off again to go swimming in the lake (hope it doesn't get stuck in the tar!).

mikeemmert · Dec 18, 2006

Does this mean you advocate the Titan blimp? <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" />

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