When
3:45 p.m., Nov. 4, 2014
Where
Kuiper Space Sciences 312
Dr. Jani Radebaugh
Associate Professor
Brigham Young University
The Surface of Titan After 10 Years of Cassini
The Cassini Spacecraft is revealing Titan to have one of the most Earth-like surfaces in the solar system. Features such as eroded mountain belts, filled and dry fluvial channels, alluvial fans, large lakes and seas, and even more vast seas of sand dunes are found across the surface. Their scales and relationships with each other are remarkably similar to those on Earth; however, compositions, rates of processes, and relative and absolute ages of surface features are still very much unknown. These topics are the focus of the Cassini Solstice Mission, operating now through northern summer solstice in 2017, when Cassini will plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn. Remote sensing and field studies of similar landforms on Earth informs our understanding of Titan's features. In addition, the endmember conditions of Titan, having lower overall system energies and a lack of global oceans, highlights fundamentals of processes and landforms under rapid change on Earth.
Host: Shane Byrne
Associate Professor
Brigham Young University
The Surface of Titan After 10 Years of Cassini
The Cassini Spacecraft is revealing Titan to have one of the most Earth-like surfaces in the solar system. Features such as eroded mountain belts, filled and dry fluvial channels, alluvial fans, large lakes and seas, and even more vast seas of sand dunes are found across the surface. Their scales and relationships with each other are remarkably similar to those on Earth; however, compositions, rates of processes, and relative and absolute ages of surface features are still very much unknown. These topics are the focus of the Cassini Solstice Mission, operating now through northern summer solstice in 2017, when Cassini will plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn. Remote sensing and field studies of similar landforms on Earth informs our understanding of Titan's features. In addition, the endmember conditions of Titan, having lower overall system energies and a lack of global oceans, highlights fundamentals of processes and landforms under rapid change on Earth.
Host: Shane Byrne
General
LPL Colloquium
Undergraduate
Graduate