Computer Science
Scientific paper
Apr 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010ttt..work...27n&link_type=abstract
Through Time; A Workshop On Titan's Past, Present and Future, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, April 6th - 8th, 2010. Edited b
Computer Science
Scientific paper
High-resolution images of the surface of Titan taken by the Cassini spacecraft reveal a world with an extreme paucity of impact craters. Planetary surfaces are commonly dated by dividing the number of impact craters by the estimated impactor flux, but this approach has been confounded at Titan by several difficulties. First, high-resolution imaging of the surface of Titan is far from complete (in the near-infrared as well as radar). As of December 2007, Cassini RADAR images covered only 22% of its surface. However, we can use Monte-Carlo models to explore how many craters of a given size (with large or very large craters being of particular interest) may be present in the unobserved areas. Second, literature descriptions of the crater formation rate (e.g. Korycansky and Zahnle 2005 and Artemieva and Lunine 2005) are apparently not in agreement. We discuss possible resolutions. Third, since surface modification processes are ongoing, the actual number of craters on Titan's surface remains uncertain, as craters may be eroded beyond recognition, or obscured by lakes or sand seas. In this connection, we use the Earth as an analogue. The Earth is in many ways the most "Titan-like" world in the solar system, with extensive modification by erosion, burial, tectonism, and volcanism. We compare the observed number of terrestrial craters to the expected terrestrial impactor flux to determine the crater reduction factor for a world similar to Titan. From this information, we can back out the actual number of craters on Titan's surface and estimate its crater retention age. An accurate age estimate will be critical for constraining models of Titan's formation and evolution.
Lorenz Ralph D.
Neish Catherine D.
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