Artist's concept of Saturn amongst the hydrocarbon haze of ?

Artist's concept of Saturn amongst the hydrocarbon haze of its moon Titan. Saturn and its rings would be a majestic sight lording over Titan's hydrocarbon haze. The viewpoint is from 50 miles above Titan's surface and three-quarters of a million miles away from Saturn itself. Three of Saturn's smaller satellites can also be seen extending from the ring plane to the left of Saturn is Enceladus, and to the right are Tethys and Rhea. Technically, the orange clouds mark the beginning of Titan's condensate haze, which consists of ethane, methane, nitrogen, and a variety of hydrocarbons known collectively as tholin. These gases and hydrocarbons extend upward another 250 miles, resulting in a bluish, earth-like sky, albeit darker due to Titan's great distance from the Sun. Tholin is created by the interaction of the nitrogen-rich gases with ultraviolet light from the Sun and ultimately precipitates all the way down to Titan's surface. Notwithstanding its flame-like colors, this haze is chilled to minus 330o F

Astrogeology Astronomical Exogeology Giants Haze Hydrocarbon Jovian Methane Mist Nitrogen Planetary Planets Rendition Saturn Solar Universe

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