Titan

Vincent · 2013-07-05 09:46:42

This is the best processed image of Huygens data as the probe entered the atmosphere. I suspect it is "white balanced." Why can't the just take the damn picture ????

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11627092@N06/9109081576/

Last edited by Vincent (2013-07-05 09:47:29)

Mark Friedenbach · 2013-07-05 10:39:35

Vincent, the raw photographs are available in the Planetary Data System. However cameras do not work the way that I think you believe they do. No camera does a good job of approximating what human eyes would see, and calibrations are always required. The situation is made 'worse' by the types of instruments which fly on these missions, which for very good reasons do not use the same visible light wavelength ranges that human eyes are receptive to.

tahanson43206 · 2021-08-30 12:05:29

For SpaceNut .... this topic is the oldest of those that contain the word "titan" in the title ...

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/let- … ket-newtab

Titanians (as we call them) wouldn’t have to spend all their time inside. The recreational opportunities on Titan are unique. For example, you could fly. The weak gravity—similar to the Moon’s—combined with the thick atmosphere would allow individuals to aviate with wings on their backs. If the wings fall off, no worry, landing will be easy. Terminal velocity on Titan is a tenth that found on the Earth.
How will we get there? Currently, we can’t. Unfortunately, we probably can’t get to Mars safely, either, without faster propulsion to limit the time in space and associated GCR dosage before astronauts are unduly harmed. We will need faster propulsion to Mars or Titan. For Titan, much faster, as the trip currently takes seven years.
There is no quick way to move off the Earth. We will have to solve our problems here. But if our species continues to invest in the pure science of space exploration and the stretch technology needed to preserve human health in space, people will eventually live on Titan.
Charles Wohlforth is the author of more than ten previous books. He writes a column for Alaska Dispatch News, hosts a weekly interview program for Alaska public radio stations (where he lives), and has won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology, among many other awards. He is co-author of Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets.
Amanda R. Hendrix is a planetary scientist who worked for twelve years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has been a scientific investigator on the Galileo and Lunar Reconnaissance missions, a principal investigator on NASA research and Hubble Space Telescope observing programs, and the author of many scientific papers. As an investigator on the Cassini mission to Saturn, she has focused her research on the moons of Saturn. She is co-author of Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

This pair of authors seems familiar to me ... it is entirely possible there is another reference to their work on behalf of Titan elsewhere in the forum archive.

In any case, they definitely make a solid case ** for ** Titan as a livable environment.

(th)

Last edited by tahanson43206 (2021-08-30 12:05:51)

Calliban · 2021-08-30 12:45:16

Titan is not somewhere that you would want to send people to. Can you imagine it? An atmosphere with density several times Earth sea level, with a temperature of -160°C! It would be like wading through a swimming pool filled with liquid nitrogen. The heat fluxes out of a human body under those conditions would be horrendous. It would be tough designing a suite that could prevent people from losing fingers, toes, maybe even limbs to frostbite. The surface would be dominated by hydrocarbons and water ice. But virtually no silicates or metals. A thoroughly horrible place. When we get round to serious terraforming on Mars, maybe we could suck up Titan's atmosphere and deliver it to Mars? Until then, this isn't going to be a place where anyone in their right mind would want to live.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-04-11 15:14:45

Chemists Discover New Way To Harness Energy From Ammonia
https://phys.org/news/2021-11-chemists- … monia.html

You can fly like a bird and swim in alien seas, but there's a problem with holidays on Titan
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sunshine/p … y/13826134

Calliban · 2022-04-11 15:37:09

Mars_B4_Moon wrote:

Chemists Discover New Way To Harness Energy From Ammonia
https://phys.org/news/2021-11-chemists- … monia.html
You can fly like a bird and swim in alien seas, but there's a problem with holidays on Titan
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/sunshine/p … y/13826134

You can freeze like a popsicle as you sink into a sea of liquid ethane!

The ammonia discovery is important though. Ammonia could have niche applications as a fuel. But burning it produces a lot of nitrous oxide. Which is toxic and a powerful greenhouse gas. Reforming the ammonia back into nitrogen and hydrogen could allow ammonia to be used as fuel.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-04-19 13:56:07

NASA’s Dragonfly Rotorcraft Mission to Saturn’s Moon Titan Confirmed
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/drago … confirmed/

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#1 2013-07-05 09:46:42

Titan

#2 2013-07-05 10:39:35

Re: Titan

#3 2021-08-30 12:05:29

Re: Titan

#4 2021-08-30 12:45:16

Re: Titan

#5 2022-04-11 15:14:45

Re: Titan

#6 2022-04-11 15:37:09

Re: Titan

#7 2024-04-19 13:56:07

Re: Titan

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