Earthsky Interviews
Jonathan Lunine says Saturn’s moon may have ice volcanoes
01-27-2009 - Space
That’s astronomer Jonathan Lunine. He’s speaking about Saturn’s largest and most mysterious moon, Titan, whose surface is covered by clouds. He said NASA’s Cassini spacecraft might have detected volcano-like features on Titan’s surface.
Jonathan Lunine: Since we know the crust of Titan is ice and not rock, we call those ‘cryovolcanoes.’ These are places where the crust of Titan has melted.
Earth’s volcanoes spew magma, but Titan’s ice-volcanoes are different.
Jonathan Lunine: So if you were standing on Titan’s surface and watching a cryovolcanic flow, it would be a rather gooey mixture of water and ammonia – it would look like molasses flowing out across the surface.
Lunine suggested Titan’s volcanoes also release methane gas, which would condense to form clouds, just like water on Earth.
Jonathan Lunine: It’s methane that flows throughout the streams on Titan, it’s methane that makes the rain and the clouds, it’s methane that drives the climate.
The Cassini spacecraft’s findings are still controversial.
Jonathan Lunine: Are these really cryovolcanic features, or are they something else?
Our thanks to:
Jonathan Lunine, Cassini Interdisciplinary Scientist
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Titan is a very misterious object. Its volcanos are very surprising an unpradictable
science recapitulates art! Arthur C Clarke wrote about ice/ammonia volcanoes on titan many years ago. I say this to congratulate the scientists involved and to point out the imagination of the human spirit. all of these worlds are just stepping stones for humanity’s great adventure. Clark and Asimov; Pohl and Robinson, so many found a way to make a living by projecting their writing into the future. Now our scientists and engineers are reaching out to that future, finding a thread of reality running strongly through the fantasy story lines. Even more encouraging it is not just the US any more but scientists of many countries, with contrasting motivations and competing dreams to test against the future. It is a great time to be alive.