Physics
Scientific paper
Apr 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010ttt..work...75l&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
Physics
1
Scientific paper
In this paper I put Titan into its cosmic context, as the type example of a planetary body with a dense atmosphere and effective temperature suited for liquid methane and ethane at its surface. Such a body, positioned at 10 AU around a star like the Sun, would be present at 1 AU around the cosmos' most common type of main-sequence star, M dwarfs. M-dwarfs outnumber G-dwarfs by two orders of magnitude. In contrast to the situation for "earths" around M-dwarfs, which must be so close to the star that coronal mass ejection and flares render the stability of the planet's environment questionable, "Titans" around M-dwarfs should possess stable environments. Their habitability depends, of course, on whether a form of life could persist in liquid methane and ethane. I examine the atmospheric and surface indicators that self-organizing chemistry, sufficiently elaborate to be called life, would exhibit. I look at a range of available data from the Cassini mission to assess whether in fact they point to the presence of metabolic processes on Titan. I also propose tests that might be done in the hydrocarbon seas of Titan on a future mission to test more rigorously for life. Should Titan play host to life, it could then be the solar system's "avatar" of the most common type of stable habitable environment in the cosmos. The possibility that this might be the case should add a strong impetus to development of future missions to Titan, and links this exploration to eventual plans for direct detection and characterization of exoplanets.
No associations
LandOfFree
Titan as avatar for M dwarf habitable planets does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Titan as avatar for M dwarf habitable planets, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Titan as avatar for M dwarf habitable planets will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1191480