Refiner of Gold Creations'

Solar System -- Titan

Fifteenth Moon of the Sixth Planet
Titan: Saturn's Masked Moon
  • Largest moon of Saturn.
  • Titan is larger than Mercury.
  • Average distance from Saturn is 1.222,000 km.
  • Rotation is 16 days.
  • Diamter is 5,140 km.
  • It has an unknown composition, and a hydorgen atmosphere.
  • Its atmosphere was first discovered by astronmer G.P. Kuiper in 1944.
    • This Dutch-American's spectra showed strong absorptions of certain colors.
    • Color absorptions are due to methane gas on Titan.
    • He wrote a paper about Titan's atmosphere.
  • Voyager 1's flight through Saturn's system in 1980 revealed:
    • Titan appeared as an orange featureless ball.
    • A dark-toned polar cap.
    • A bright southern-hemispheric cloud covering.
    • Methane and nitrogen were indeed present in the atmosphere.
    • Other gases, such as ethane, acetylene, ethylene, and hydrogen cyanide, were also present.

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Refiner of Gold Creations
1998 Solar System Facts
Created by EMC on 6/23/1997. Updated 5/4/2005.