Detection of daily clouds on Titan

C. A. Griffith, J. L. Hall, T. R. Gebelle

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

128 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have discovered frequent variations in the near-infrared spectrum of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, which are indicative of the daily presence of sparse clouds covering less than 1% of the area of the satellite. The thermodynamics of Titan's atmosphere and the clouds' altitudes suggest that convection governs their evolutions. Their short lives point to the presence of rain. We propose that Titan's atmosphere resembles Earth's, with clouds, rain, and an active weather cycle, driven by latent heat release from the primary condensible species.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)509-513
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume290
Issue number5491
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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