Saturn's moon Titan has fascinated astronomers for quite some time.
Now this little world has thrown us a curveball -- it might be older than Saturn itself!
Hello everyone, I'm Ian O'Neill, space producer for Discovery News and I want to talk about
one of the weirdest moons ever studied.
According to most prediction models, moons are formed from the same material as the planets
they orbit.
In other words, the planet comes first, then the moon.
But a new finding about Saturn's moon Titan seems to contradict that model.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft recently beamed back some bizarre isotopic data about Titan's
atmosphere.
All elements have a certain number of isotopes, which means the same element can have a different
number of neutrons but the same number of protons in the nucleus.
Titan's atmosphere is rich in Nitrogen, so researchers can get a good idea of its origins
by measuring the quantities of Nitrogen-14 and Nitrogen-15.
Any changes in the ratio between these two isotopes can help scientists decipher how
old the atmosphere is and its possible origin.
And this is the strange thing: the isotopic ratio shows Titan's atmosphere has similar
characteristics to the ancient comets that formed in the outer solar system, over 4 billion
years ago.
This study provides a hint that Titan's building blocks didn't form from the hot gases that
created Saturn, it's actually composed of ancient ices, pre-dating Saturn!
There is also an implication for Earth.
It has always been assumed that the majority of Nitrogen in OUR atmosphere was deposited
by asteroid and comet impacts.
Our planet's atmosphere is also Nitrogen rich, and maybe some of it comes from the same ancient
material as Titan's.
Of course, this isn't the only thing that makes Titan a bit strange.
It's also the only moon in the entire solar system to have a thick and dynamic coat of
gas with a surface pressure about 60 percent higher than Earth's.
There are large 'seas' of liquid methane and ethane and these organic compounds have their
own cycles through Titan's atmosphere, much like Earth's water cycle.
Methane RAIN has also been spotted, which is pretty alien to us Earthlings.
Titan is also rich in organic compounds on its surface -- hydrocarbons cover the moon,
leading many astrobiologists to believe it is similar to Earth when it was very young.
The building blocks of life are in abundance, motivating scientists to push for another
surface mission.
The European Space Agency did one in 2005, called Huygens.
The robotic lander was attached to the Cassini spacecraft that orbits the ringed gas giant
to this day.
Huygens beamed back photographs revealing a pebbly world covered with river channels,
dunes and valleys.
So the finding that the building blocks of Titan may be older than Saturn itself only
adds to the fascinating science surrounding it -- fascination that can only be satisfied
when we land another mission onto the moon's surface, or -- my PERSONAL favorite -- send
a probe to sail in one of Titan's seas.
What about you- are you eager to find out more about Titan?
Let us know in the comments below and keep coming back for new DNews videos every day
of the week.