Astronomers Probe Mysterious Gas In Titan's Atmosphere 104
sciencehabit writes "A fluorescent glow high in the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, signifies the presence of a gas that astronomers have yet to identify. The glow appears only on the daytime side of the moon at altitudes between 600 and 1250 kilometers, with the largest intensity occurring at an altitude of about 950 km. Detailed analyses reveal that the glow doesn't stem from a problem with the Saturn-orbiting Cassini craft, and it isn't associated with methane or any of the other hydrocarbons already identified as constituents of Titan's atmosphere."
nasa is like the tsa (Score:1)
... they both get excited about a probe to uranus
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Oh ho ho! A fart joke! Never would I have seen that one coming! Can you do a uranus joke next! Those are so fucking funny! And nobody has ever done them before ever!
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So...ura..nostologist? You study senility?
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Naturally, that's where burrito gas comes from.
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I have an idea where that gas came from. Probably that Titanurrito I had for lunch.
Well, perhaps they're just celebrating Saturnalia. Given the venue, it would make sense. Who knows what calendar they're using, anyway?
Where did I hear that before? (Score:2)
I guess the chances of anything coming from Titan, are a million to one...
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You forgot the eerie OoooOOOOooooOOOoooo LLLaaaaaaaaaaa!
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Its the Puppet Masters.
No spectrograph? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:No spectrograph? (Score:5, Informative)
RTFA.
Of course it does. That's how they know it's there. They're just not sure what is making it... maybe aromatics.
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its gas... it must be the holy shit
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i can't help it if 2/3 of the population is stupid
Re:No spectrograph? (Score:5, Informative)
According to TFA, it does, but the spectrum is very near to methane, which is making it hard to identify this other gas.
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Methane Lite.
The spectrum you love, with half the calories.
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Methane Lite.
The spectrum you love, with half the calories.
Gadolinium 64...
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Good job (Score:5, Insightful)
(And what did Phil Plait ever do to you AC? Or do you have an irrational grudge against any scientists who actually tries to educate laypeople?)
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so far we've already got three fart jokes and one random insult
Welcome to human race.
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Phil Plait makes really stupid arguments when trying to disprove something he doesn't believe in.
If you develop a grudge against everyone who says something stupid on the internet, you must live a pathetic life.
A sane person would just quit reading his blog, if he thought it was stupid. Or make jokes about it.
But a grudge?
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I don't see a "grudge" in his statements; he is just pointing out that (in his view) Plait's blog has problems, and that's a useful thing for other readers to keep in mind.
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Re: Good job (Score:1)
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I actually do real public scientific outreach myself ...
Ooh, tell me more. I'm guessing big tobacco, fossil fuel / nuclear, anything involving LD50 tests ...
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... geocentricism, steady state theory, ufology ...
but wait! here's a blast from the past: "dirty linux loving phaggots" [slashdot.org]
... Microsoft Research ...
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... what did Plait ever do to you AC?
Phucking Phil Phucktard is an [blah blah blah] ... But funny you went fishing for "an irrational grudge against any scientist." [blah blah blah] Phucking Phil Plait can't. [blah blah blah] Phucking Phil Phucktard [blah blah blah] Phucking Phil's [blah] Phucking Phil's [spew] Phucking Phil Phucktard [vomit] phucking phucktard's ass.
Phil fucked his mom.
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It sounds like a ploy to keep the funds flowing for Cassini.
+5 insightful for this obvious troll post?
Slashdot: +5 Disgraceful
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I am not opposed to continuing to fund Cassini, but the fact is that when a project goes to the politicians for more funding they need to demonstrate work which they could continue to do with more money. This very thin article has the feel of something which has been held back to use when the money runs out. Okay they have seen something funny, but they don't have a spectrum. Why not, surely they would be the most obviousl thing to do up front.
Re:Its a very convenient gas (Score:5, Insightful)
Considering that Cassini is a WORKING orbiter around Saturn, a thing we are unlikely to see again in most of our lifetimes, I'm good with them funding the use of it as long as it keeps running, for no other reason than to keep looking for things it missed the first (or hundredth) time around. Same for any other working interplanetary spacecraft. If (and only if) someone can make the case that defunding Cassini will directly free up funding for the next probe to Saturn, then maybe, but I don't believe that will happen.
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The Apollo ALSEP experiments were defunded and shut down. It seems stupid but it does happen.
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Yeah, I never could understand that one (ALSEP shutdown). By the way, I think it was unjustified for your original post to get modded down like it did (troll and flamebait -- I never got those:)). It sounded a bit trolly on first read but was a worthy speculation.
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It sounds like a ploy to keep the funds flowing for Cassini.
+5 insightful for this obvious troll post?
Slashdot: +5 Disgraceful
Our conspiracy theories are becoming as unsophisticated as our fart jokes. Back in the day, people made up interesting CTs, but nowadays it's always "they want more funding".
Let's here some *good* conspiracy theories for this, then maybe we can have a poll to see which one is best.
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Happen to agree with the original post. NASA funding will be cut 21% due to the sequester. His opinions is not a troll and while neat for an 'oh gee' bit off science.....This is not that big a deal For the guy that attacked him (ThePieces), just because you think there is plenty of $ to around does not mean there are........ you need to learn critical thinking and just why the mission wants the attention......
-1 troll disgraceful.
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It sounds like a ploy to keep the funds flowing for Cassini.
Yeah. What assholes, finding something new that they haven't identified....
Could it come from (Score:1, Redundant)
Someone had to do it.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (Score:5, Interesting)
Origins of life PAH world hypothesis
Is it sentient? (Score:1)
Reminds me of a Star Trek episode or two where they mistakenly take about some glowing air or sand or some such and it turns out to be sentient. Or could be some bizarre bacteria that flourishes in that environment. Heck we've found silicon based flora in our own deep oceans.
Re:Is it sentient? (Score:5, Informative)
we've found silicon based flora in our own deep oceans
Citation needed. There are no silicon-based life forms known to man.
Re:Is it sentient? (Score:4, Funny)
you are wrong, there are plenty of silicon-polymer (silicone) based giant nippled life forms; they always attach to their hosts in pairs
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My back yard is full of the stuff, it just very slow moving.
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No, he confused silicon with sulfur. Can't find a good article but here's an example:
http://www.coml.org/discoveries/discoveries/new_species/sulphurbacteria.htm [coml.org]
Could be serioius (Score:5, Funny)
So we have a planetoid enveloped in a vaporous cloud of mysterious matter, which is unknown to science.
Well, I've seen enough old Star Trek episodes to know that it's almost certainly a malevolent disembodied life form, which was left imprisoned on that desolate moon eons ago to keep it from threatening other civilizations throughout the galaxy.
Unfortunately, the Huygens probe has probably now provided it with the tools it needs to transport itself off the moon, most likely in a bid to attack and take over our planet Earth. Since it's probably invulnerable to any technology we posess, our only hope is to cleverly lure it into some kind of trap where it will destroy itself, most likely in a large explosion.
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They clearly forgot to add the "malevolent disembodied life form" detection dooverlacky on this probe.
NASA cant get *anything* right!
Not a gas; just a Titanic Aurora (Score:1)
That's all.
But NASA needs some good PR.
Which is a good enough motive these days.
Re:Has anyone considered... (Score:4, Funny)
Look I think that's a great theory except for one tiny problem, Titan is in orbit around Saturn.....
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Ammonia bird, in a gilded cage.
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Might not be unreasonable if Titan orbited Jupiter.
Alas, Titan is orbiting Saturn, and is a bit far away for what you're describing....
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Yeah, except the same process is happening with Saturn, excepts its water molecule erupting from huge geysers on Enceladus. Of course Saturn has a dramatically weaker magnetic field than Jupiter (if you could see the magnetic field of Jupiter it would be several times larger than the Moon and the largest thing in the night sky.) So you wouldn't be getting the kind of energies that Jupiter hefts, but Saturn in no slouch. That and the back lit pictures of Saturn show extensive invisoble ring structure dramati
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Your overcomplicated this. Now pay attention while I hold this shiny thing in front of you and give you a short speech.
*sunglasses
Swampgas+Venus+Light Reflected
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Alex, I'll take Bluebook for 500...
Obligatory (Score:5, Funny)
Pumbaa: Hey, Timon, ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa, I don't wonder; I know.
Pumbaa: Oh. What are they?
Timon: They're fireflies. Fireflies that, uh... got stuck up on that big bluish-black thing.
Pumbaa: Oh, gee. I always thought they were balls of gas burning billions of miles away.
Timon: Pumbaa, with you, everything's gas.
Neon Gas in Neon Signs = ... Yellow (Score:2)
Maybe?
Titan blamed it on the dog (Score:1)
fluorescent organic molecules? (Score:5, Informative)
*groan over the uranus, fartgas, and other dumb jokes.*
Anyway, since this is occuring over the sunlit side of the moon, and that the moon is very far away from the sun, and that solar wind particle action on the moon's atmosphere would be shockingly small, (Saturn's magnetic field would push a good deal away, and even then the distance means a radically lower conentration than we are used to dealing with, meaning solar ions are unlikely as a cause.) Is it possible that there are tiny organic molecules up there with a fluorescent property?
Titan has lots of methane, nitrogen, and ambient radiation from Saturn. Tiny particles just a few molecules in size suspended in the upper atmosphere would be all that's needed. Essentially, glow in the dark organic dust?
It would be interesting to see if there are other re-emission falloff zones in that part of the atmosphere relating to the e-ring charge emissions from Saturn, and other nearby energy sources that could excite a light emitting molecule.
Re:fluorescent organic molecules? (Score:4, Informative)
That seems likely- data from other instruments on Cassini [acs.org] has suggested that aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and anthracene form high in Titan's atmosphere. The altitude (~1000km) is consistent with the location of the glow, and the emission line fits- a mix of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons has long been thought to be the source of a 3.3 micron emission line seen in interstellar dust. [nasa.gov]
Obviously, (Score:2)
I can't believe... (Score:2)
I'm the only Slashdotter who's read John Varley?