Titan's Landscape: Saturn's Largest Moon Similar to Earth, Here's Why

Titan is known for being the largest moon orbiting around the planet Saturn. The satellite is so enormous that it exceeds the size of our own moon and even the planet Mercury itself. According to new research, Titan contains atmospheric phenomena and surface landscapes similar to Earth.

Titan's Earth-like activities consist of liquid rains pouring down from the thick clouds that cover the moon. These matters are responsible for sculpting various terrains on the satellite's surface. In addition, the drops make up most of the volumes in the moon's liquid basins.

But unlike Earth, the liquids falling during rain and flowing in the rivers and lakes of Titan are made up of liquefied methane and are produced by nitrogen winds.

Due to other chemical reactions, these compounds are able to construct the objects we see on Titan's surface, including the rare hydrocarbon sand dunes that are significantly distinct from silicate sediment materials found across the solar system.

Titan's Seasonal Cycle and Landscape

Titan’s Landscape: Saturn’s Largest Moon is Similar to Earth, Here’s Why — Larger than the planet Mercury, huge moon Titan is seen here as it orbits Saturn. Below Titan are the shadows cast by Saturn's rings. This natural color view was created by combining six images captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on May 6, 2012. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

To know more about how these compounds sculpt the landscape of Titan, the authors of the new study formulated a model of the moon's seasonal cycle.

In their findings, the simulation showed a cycle comparable to Earth's atmospheric activities. These phases induce the displacements of the grain-sized compounds across Titan's surface. When this happens, clumps of hydrocarbons join together and eventually build wide terrains and dunes on the moon, reports ScienceDaily.

Titan is among the nearby cosmic bodies that scientists see fit as potential habitat for humans. Because of the similar characteristics of the moon to our planet, experts theorize that human colonies could exist on Titan, offering relative living conditions, weather systems, and even seasonal cycles to Earthlings.

Stanford University's Department of Geological Sciences expert and lead author of the study Mathieu Lapotre explained that the study allowed them to discover the process of hydrocarbon-based materials to form bedrock and sand grains with respect to the weather condition and the flow of streams in Titan.

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Earth-Like Moon, Can Humans Live On It?

Compared to other neighbors of our planet in the solar system, Titan is the only closest structure that has an Earth-like liquid transportation cycle. The findings from the latest research allow us to have a perspective of how these seasonal changes move the tiniest grains of the moon and design its present surface.

Lepotre said that, by understanding the landforms and mechanics of the sedimentary materials on Titan, we would obtain clues about the moon's geological history as well as its climate patterns. Altogether, these pieces of information could let us know the probability of humans to live on Saturn's largest moon.

Like Earth and the theorized past of Mars, Titan has an active sedimentary cycle that could give us insights into the latitudinal distribution of the moon's landscapes, such as during the periodical sintering and abrasion caused by the orb's seasons, the expert added.

The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, titled "The Role of Seasonal Sediment Transport and Sintering in Shaping Titan's Landscapes: A Hypothesis."