In situ measurements of the physical characteristics of Titan's environment

Fulchignoni, M.; Ferri, F.; Angrilli, F.; Ball, A.J.; Bar-Nun, A.; Barucci, M.A.; Bettanini, C.; Bianchini, G.; Borucki, W.; Colombatti, G.; Coradini, M.; Coustenis, A.; Debei, S.; Falkner, P.; Fanti, G.; Flamini, E.; Gaborit, V.; Grard, R.; Hamelin, M.; Harri, A.M.; Hathi, B.; Jernej, I.; Leese, M.R.; Lehto, A.; Lion Stoppato, P.F.; López-Moreno, J.J.; Mäkinen, T.; McDonnell, J.A.M.; McKay, C.P.; Molina-Cuberos, G.; Neubauer, F.M.; Pirronello, V.; Rodrigo, R.; Saggin, B.; Schwingenschuh, K.; Sieff, A.; Simões, F.; Svedhem, H.; Tokano, T.; Towner, M.C.; Traunter, R.; Withers, P. and Zarnecki, J.C. (2005). In situ measurements of the physical characteristics of Titan's environment. Nature, 438(7069) pp. 785–791.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04314

Abstract

On the basis of previous ground-based and fly-by information, we knew that Titan's atmosphere was mainly nitrogen, with some methane, but its temperature and pressure profiles were poorly constrained because of uncertainties in the detailed composition. The extent of atmospheric electricity ('lightning') was also hitherto unknown. Here we report the temperature and density profiles, as determined by the Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument (HASI), from an altitude of 1,400 km down to the surface. In the upper part of the atmosphere, the temperature and density were both higher than expected. There is a lower ionospheric layer between 140 km and 40 km, with electrical conductivity peaking near 60 km. We may also have seen the signature of lightning. At the surface, the temperature was 93.65 0.25 K, and the pressure was 1,467 1 hPa.

Viewing alternatives

Look up in Google Scholar

Metrics

Public Attention

Altmetrics from Altmetric

Number of Citations

Citations from Dimensions
No digital document available to download for this item

Item Actions

Export

About

CORE (COnnecting REpositories)

Recommendations