Data collected by NASA’s Cassini probe has allowed scientists to estimate the depth of Kraken Mare – the largest sea of methane on the moon Saturn Titan.
Fresh research published in the Journal of Geophysical Research expands our knowledge of Titan’s hydrocarbon oceans, specifically Kraken Mare. This sea, about 600 miles (1,000 km) long, larger than the five North American Great Lakes combined and hold about 80% of the lunar surface liquid. Titan is rich in methane and ethane and they are like molten natural gas on Earth.
Titan is the only moon in the solar system known for hosting an atmosphere. The thick, nitrogen-laden blanket covering the moon hides a complex irrigation system on the surface, but instead of melt water, the rivers, lakes, and oceans on Titan are made up of methane. oily black. Titan features other curiosities as well, such as gigantic dust storms, ice volcanoes, and very large sand dunes.
As the new research shows, the deepest parts of Kraken Mare could be bigger than 1,000 feet (300 meters) deep. T.his team, led by Valerio Poggiali, research associate at the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, he cannot be sure of that figure, since the radar pings used to determine the depth of the ocean never reached the seabed.
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NASA Cassini Spacecraft orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, and scientists already are explore some of the smallest oceans on Titan using the Cassini board altimeter. O.August 21, 2014, Cassini flew to within 600 miles (970 km) of Titan’s surface and was able to send radar singing into Kraken Mare. Interestingly, this was the only flyby that led to Ligeia Mare – a Magic island “magic” on Titan.
Researchers at Cornell and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have developed an ingenious device for determining the depth of Titan’s oceans, which involves measuring differences in the time it takes for a radar to kick back from the surface of the Titan. compared to the seabed. This method helps to estimate the depth of the sea, but the researchers need to make specific assumptions about the density of liquids on Titan and how fast radio waves pass through it.
Using this method, the team measured the depth of Moray Sinus, an estuary north of Kraken Mare, which they found to be 280 feet. (85 meters) deep. The intake level of radar waves suggests that the liquid in this part of the ocean is made up of 70% methane, 16% nitrogen, and 14% ethane. The scientists expected more methane than this because of the size and location of the ocean, but this discovery suggests a more integrated circulation of chemicals across different lunar water bodies.
Altimeter scans performed throughout the main part of Kraken Mare were less certain. As the authors write in the study, the NASA probe found that “there is no evidence of signals returning from the seabed, indicating that the liquid is too deep or too captive for radio waves. Cassini to enter. That said, if the liquid in this part of the sea is similar to the liquid found at Moray Sinus, it must be deeper than 330 feet (100 meters). and probably as deep as 1,000 feet (300 meters), according to the study.
Poggiali is hopeful that a robotic submarine will be sent to Titan one day to study Kraken Mare or another body of water. And of course, he sees the new research as a step in that direction.
“Thanks to our measurements, scientists can now detect the density of the liquid with higher precision, resulting in a better capitalization of the sonar on board. [future robotic submarine] and understanding the directional currents of the sea, ”explained Poggiali at Cornell University recitation.
A. conceptual plan from 2015 it showed what such a mission might look like, but nothing was agreed in this regard. That said, NASA will send an air drone, called Dragonfly, to Titan, whose moon should reach sometime in the mid-2030s.