Titan is the only satellite in the solar system with a significant atmosphere. In fact, Titan's atmospheric pressure is about 1.6 times that of Earth. Titan's surface is almost entirely hidden by its atmosphere, a thick red haze that in some ways resembles the smog found on Earth. About 95 percent of Titan's atmosphere is nitrogen. Approximately 3 percent is methane, which is a hydrocarbon (a compound of hydrogen and carbon). The remaining 2 percent consists of hydrogen, other hydrocarbons, and possibly argon. Little water vapor exists in the satellite's atmosphere. Hydrocarbons may rain down on the surface, forming enclosed seas, lakes, and ponds.
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, two space probes launched by the United States, provided information about Titan in 1980 and 1981. The Cassini spacecraft, which began orbiting Saturn in the summer of 2004, carried cloud-penetrating radar and other instruments designed to "see" through Titan's atmosphere. It also carried a probe called Huygens that was designed to drop through Titan's atmosphere and land on its surface.
Contributor: Carolyn Porco, Ph.D., Professor, Cussini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations, Southwest Research Institute.
How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: Porco, Carolyn. "Titan." World Book Online Reference Center. 2005. World Book, Inc. http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar559220.
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