Earth's little brother Titan among moons

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Earth's little brother Titan among moons
Topic Started: Aug 11 2009, 03:17 AM (133 Views)
Sayf Udeen Ismaeel	Aug 11 2009, 03:17 AM Post #1
Icon by meagan_chelsea @ LJ Posts: 7,579 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: May 2, 2008 Gender Male Religious Views Muslim Political View All over the shop.	Earth's little brother Titan among moons Earthlike ... scientists' interpretation of Titan's hydrocarbon pools and rocky terrain / Reuters Scientists map Titan Similar in appearance to Earth Mountains, dunes, lakes IT BEARS a striking resemblance to our own Earth - right down to the smog-ridden atmosphere. Using radar to pierce the thick atmosphere, scientists have mapped a third of the surface of Saturn's planet-sized moon, Titan. And despite the alien environment, they have revealed an uncanny likeness to Earth, with mountain ranges, dunes, numerous lakes and suspected volcanoes. And just as on Earth, the weather on Titan appears to have erased most evidence of meteorite craters. "It really is surprising how closely Titan's surface resembles Earth's," said planetary geologist Rosaly Lopes, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in California. "In fact, Titan looks more like the Earth than any other body in the Solar System, despite the huge differences in temperature and other environmental conditions." Dr Lopes presented the latest Titan results at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The US space agency NASA's Cassini probe has been checking Saturn and moons for five years, acting as "mothership" to the European Space Agency probe Huygens which landed on Titan in 2005. Titan is a super-cooled world with average surface temperatures about -180C, where water exists only as deep-frozen, rock-hard ice. Methane and ethane do water's work in Titan's hydrological cycle, falling as rain or snow, and forming lakes and drainage channels. But if you think it sounds too inhospitable for life, think again. The chemical environment on Titan closely resembles early Earth about the time life first emerged. Titan is the only moon known to have a thick atmosphere, and the only celestial body other than Earth to have stable pools of liquid on its surface. Dr Robert Nelson, another Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher also addressed the meeting, saying: "One exciting question is whether Titan's chemical processes today support a pre-biotic chemistry similar to that under which life evolved on Earth." http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25910415-401,00.html



gingerwitch28	Aug 11 2009, 12:54 PM Post #2
twenty-first century ennui Posts: 1,684 Group: Members Member #589 Joined: Apr 18, 2009 Gender Female Religious Views Atheist Political View Social Democracy	Damn. So we still don't have somewhere to get the hell out to once we suck THIS planet dry. "Damn!" says Kevin Rudd. "I was hoping I could get away with this shoddy ETS!"



Neo	Aug 11 2009, 03:10 PM Post #3
Posts: 65 Group: Members Member #388 Joined: Nov 7, 2008 Gender Male Religious Views Hindu	Amen. And that drying out is gonna happen real soon.



Tazay	Aug 12 2009, 10:19 PM Post #4
Posts: 32 Group: Members Member #632 Joined: Aug 5, 2009 Gender Male Religious Views Christian	This is cool, we can see if life can start twice! Even if it is on a moon



Sayf Udeen Ismaeel	Aug 12 2009, 10:46 PM Post #5
Icon by meagan_chelsea @ LJ Posts: 7,579 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: May 2, 2008 Gender Male Religious Views Muslim Political View All over the shop.	Tazay Aug 12 2009, 10:19 PM This is cool, we can see if life can start twice! Even if it is on a moon No doubt ~~Earth II~~ Titan would be very dark, not to mention cold. I doubt life could naturally survive there. When it comes to a synthetic environment, however, the possibilities become more likely.



Tazay	Aug 14 2009, 04:04 AM Post #6
Posts: 32 Group: Members Member #632 Joined: Aug 5, 2009 Gender Male Religious Views Christian	Well ti did say that Titan is kinda like earth when life first started here.



Bunny	Aug 21 2009, 06:35 AM Post #7
A Godless life seems sweeter Posts: 1,866 Group: Members Member #17 Joined: May 4, 2008 Religious Views Atheist Gender Undisclosed Political View Rt Wing. Less Govt is Better!	The picture is LAWL, because they made it on such low budget. It's Terragen v0.9b, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was still on a trial liscence. Using free plugins. They couldn't even be bothered to upgrade to TG2 for the fake stones shader. Honestly, I could make that in about 10 minutes.



Sayf Udeen Ismaeel	Aug 21 2009, 09:14 AM Post #8
Icon by meagan_chelsea @ LJ Posts: 7,579 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: May 2, 2008 Gender Male Religious Views Muslim Political View All over the shop.	You graphics snob.



Kriss	Aug 22 2009, 10:01 PM Post #9
Fear Me. Posts: 42 Group: Members Member #69 Joined: Jun 13, 2008 Gender Female Religious Views Jedi	Lol, why don't you go to Titan and snap us a picture for yourself, Bunny? I don't think they were trying to make it look specifically LIKE anything... XD Anybody could make that on Terragen, even I (yes, I) learned how to make stuff like that. D= Wow, right? I think it's awesome how much it resembles Earth... I believe Mother Nature just didn't want us to find another place to live once we killed her planet. X3 That's why she made Earth perfectly spaced not too far or not too close from the sun, and made everything else too inhabitable. She figured once we screwed up her planet enough, she'd just let us all die out. 0___o



Sedium Darxide	Sep 7 2009, 04:00 PM Post #10
Posts: 3 Group: Members Member #649 Joined: Sep 7, 2009 Gender Male Religious Views Atheist	All we need to do is find evidence of life on there and then I suppose the definition of Goldilocks Zone will need to be altered.



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