Summer clouds on Saturn's Titan satellite

Observers and researchers of Saturn's Titan satellites say that Titan satellite clouds form and move quite like clouds on earth, but at a much slower rate.

NASA predicts a warm and wet fall on Titan satellites.

Scientists on NASA's Cassini probe tracked the Titan satellite's atmosphere for three and a half years, from July 2004 to December 2007 and observed over 200 clouds. They found that the distribution of these clouds around Titan was the same as that of the global circulation. The only difference is the time - the clouds still appear in the Southern hemisphere while the fall is near.

The collaborative group between Sabastien Rodriguez of the University of Paris Diderot and the University of Nantes, France said 'The clouds around Titan do not move seasonally as our previous thoughts. In the summer, Antarctica is still very cloudy. Such summer weather may last until early autumn. Such kind of weather is quite similar to the late fall on earth, although its mechanism can be completely different. Titan satellites can have their heads in a warmer and more humid fashion than expected. '

Infrared images of Titan satellite images show large clouds in Titan's southernmost area.(Photo: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona / University of Nantes)

On Earth, the late autumn period is often warm and dry because the low-pressure block is blocked in the extreme with winter. In contrast, scientists argue that the late, cloudy, warm, and humid summers on Titan satellites are due to the slow changes in surface temperature and its lower atmosphere.

At the time of summer's fall of fertilizer to fall in August 2009, clouds around Titan are expected to disappear. However, the weather and climate recirculation model on Titan allows the prediction that clouds at the southern latitude do not need to wait until the time of decomposition that may have gradually disintegrated since 2005. From Cassini it is still possible to see the clouds there at the end of 2007, and some special clouds are strong at the equator and the surrounding area.

Titan is the only moon in the solar system that has a clear atmosphere and a climate quite similar to the earth. The dense atmosphere of nitrogen and methane of Titan makes it much less active than the earth's atmosphere. Compared to the earth, Titan is 10 times farther away from the sun and receives only 1 / 100th the amount of light. The seasons on Titan last more than 7 years in time on earth.

Scientists will continue to observe long-term changes around the time Cassini's mission is extended to space, by the fall of 2010. Cassini will fly near Titan on May 6.

Cassini-Huygens exploration satellite is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Center and the Italian Space Center. NASA's Jet Laboratory in Pasadena, California runs Cassini-Huygens probe satellite. The Cassini orbiter spacecraft is designed, developed and assembled at JPL. Research team of infrared mapping spectroscopy under the University of Arizona.