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Caitlin A. Griffith,1Joseph L. Hall,1Thomas R. Geballe2
We have discovered frequent variations in the
near-infrared spectrum of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, which are
indicativeof the daily presence of sparse clouds covering less than
1% ofthe area of the satellite. The thermodynamics of Titan's
atmosphereand the clouds' altitudes suggest that convection governs
theirevolutions. Their short lives point to the presence of rain. Wepropose that Titan's atmosphere resembles Earth's, with clouds,rain,
and an active weather cycle, driven by latent heat releasefrom the
primary condensible species.
1 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern
Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-6010, USA.
2 Gemini Observatory, Hilo, HI 96720, USA.
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
In Science Magazine
PERSPECTIVES
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[DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5491.467] |Summary »|Full Text »
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