Titan Inhabitable?

[us.2u]

Doe's anyone have data about Titan it's size land mass water mass gases e.g.hydrogen,oxygen,temparture,distance from earth doe's it have a magnetic pole? All info gratefully receieved could Titan ever sustain life as we know it?...us.2u

[TimeTraveler]

Temperature is about minus 290 degrees F. Only about 1% of Titan has been mapped so far, frozen water oceans are probably out of the question because the temperature is so cold they would have never formed. There is small amounts of hydrogen and oxygen and it is believed to be alot more frozen under the surface. It is possible it has liquid pools of methane due to the low temp. Life is improbable but possible. After the Huygens probe lands there in Jan '05 we will know alot more.

[us.2u]

Thanks for your data T.T I must admit not a very nice hospitable planet so pherhaps we're all alone out here in space? in our universe I wonder if most of you believe we are alone or anyone have any reasonable theories to think or believe otherwise?...us.2u

[Auburngirl05]

This month's "Natural History" magazine has a feature article on Titan and the exploratory missions to it, it's definitely worth reading, astronomy isn't really "my thing" but I still enjoyed the article and got a lot out of it.

[Verusamore]

us.2u ,

I believe there is life somewhere where we are just on a parallel plain ,only if we can find a way to communicate to the parallel universe that exists beyond our beginning some tens of billions years back .

[Gilded]

Say what now?

[Ophiolite]

This is quite a good site. Basic data and a little more.

http://www.solarviews.com/eng/titan.htm

[Rasori]

...It's stupid (and selfish) to consider us the only life in the universe. I think it's very tough to consider us the only life in the galaxy. Just numerical odds.

[[Tycho?]]

Titat is not habitable. There is a chance it may have life of some sort, just because of the abundance of orangic compounds present in its atmosphere. But its extremely low temperature would make any life very difficult.

[TimeTraveler]

I think it's very tough to consider us the only life in the galaxy. Just numerical odds.

 

I agree. Chances are there is other life in our solar system, (non intelligent of course)

[us.2u]

I think everyone well most of us are expecting any other life form to be mainly carbon based as that's all we know but think about it we're proberly star children indirectly from our own sun; just maybe there might be intelligent life forms of a completely different make up, mind you if there are othere intelligent life forms that have already studied mankind here on earth & we find it difficult to live in peace with each other... we can't really blame them for not trusting us with intergalectic peace can we?

[Gilded]

"...It's stupid (and selfish) to consider us the only life in the universe."

 

Seconded. It's like saying "You're not going to win anything" to a guy who bought a million 1-in-3-wins scratch tickets.

[Sidewinder]

based on what we know about life and evolution, wouldn't it be impossible for us to be the only life on the universe?

[Ophiolite]

Not impossible, just unlikely. If science has taught us one thing it should have taught us to expect the unexpected. We know less about the origin of life and evolution than we like to think we do. The only evidence of life we currrently have is on this planet. Everything else is inference. Careful inference and well founded speculation, remain just that. No matter how thorough, they do not transmute into evidence.

[us.2u]

Do you think we just find it hard to beleive we're alone? & that the idea of our dreams of aliens flying saucers, crop-circles etc... are just flights of fancy? too much & upsetting; that really, we just might be "alone" I hope we're not but if we are not alone & one day we meet "alien neighbors" I hope it works out successfully for us & them...us.2u

[Ophiolite]

Do you think we just find it hard to beleive we're alone?

There are lots of reasons why people find it comforting or attractive to think there are alien civilisations, especially ones that take an interest in us. Most of these reasons are ill founded and tell us more about the intelligence of Earth life than they do about possible extraterrestrial life. I can only think of two or three things more exciting than obtaining confirmation of ET, but wanting something does not automatically make it true. I shall remain an optimistic cynic.

[us.2u]

I guess it's a long quest is there E.T. life? some certainly think so I know there is only a very small percentage of unexplained sightings of U.F.O.'s but never the less they remain unexplained; just think there is alien abduction & I think detailed logs of their accounts are all similar,then there's unexplained accounts of the second & first kind the ones that truly can not be explained makes me wonder why? Doe's that mean governments know of extra-terrestial life but won't tell us so it's classed as unexplained; or they really are baffled? then I beleive in whoever wrote these words "FACT IS STRANGER THAN FICTION"...US.2U

[Ophiolite]

I know there is only a very small percentage of unexplained sightings of U.F.O.'s but never the less they remain unexplained

Here my thoughts on some of the points you have raised.

Let's remember what U.F.O. stands for - unidentified flying object. In other words something airborne, but we are not quite sure what. As you point out the vast majority of sightings have been explained. (The number of times Venus has been mistaken for a UFO is perhaps incalculable.) I suspect a sizeable proportion of the still unexplained objects remain so through lack of data, not because they are some alien craft. Further, I would not be surprised to learn that many/most/all othe remainder are some as yet unrecognised and comparatively rare phemomena. (I'm thinking of ball lightning and lightning sprites as examples of the sort of thing they could be.)

just think there is alien abduction & I think detailed logs of their accounts are all similar,

The similarity of the abduction accounts is, I understand, one their major clues to the an origin in the subconscious. I don't have a link on this, but I have read an article or two and seen a documentary that I found to be a plausible explanation for the phenomena. Certainly easier to accept than alien abduction.

Doe's that mean governments know of extra-terrestial life but won't tell us so it's classed as unexplained; or they really are baffled?

Frankly, I don't think they actually care. They have reached the same conclusion as the scientific community at large, that UFOs are not alien craft.

[Gilded]

Hmmh. I guess it will take quite a while (if not forever, in the aspect of humans are extinct before it) for humans to find an equally intelligent species (or one that's superior to us in the aspect of intelligence), but I don't think it will take too long for us to find life, just any life no matter how simple, on another planet.

 

I recall this thread being about Titan's inhabitability. We might discuss that a bit too.

[TimeTraveler]

Terraforming Titan is always a possibility, rather expensive with our resources for it to make sense but still an interesting thought.

[Ophiolite]

Thanks to Gilded for getting us back on track. I would have thought with the available solar energy that far out that would be a decidedly marginal proposition. Do you have any data to suggest it is even theoretically possible TimeTraveller?

[us.2u]

Remember we relate to life only as we know it; Titan may well support life exactly as we don't know it! I wonder could inhabitants reside on Titan even intelligent but totally different to our carbon make up & breathe different gases or maybe they don't breathe as we know it. There are volcanic eruptions on some planets even now so in one way that's life even as we know it isn't it?.....us.2u (Trees & plants breathe in carbon dioxide & out oxygen yet they live with us & we need them)

[TimeTraveler]

Thanks to Gilded for getting us back on track. I would have thought with the available solar energy that far out that would be a decidedly marginal proposition. Do you have any data to suggest it is even theoretically possible TimeTraveller?

 

Its all hypothetical, but it has been suggested the use of a very large sized reflector array in orbit around titan to reflect solar heat onto the moon would make it warmer. I doubt this would warm it enough though or even be practicle.

 

But I had an idea of my own (which there is very little science behind so feel free to laugh at it). First we would have to crash some larger bodies onto the moon (asteroids, comets or meteors), sized reasonably to an ability to move them (say 1-3 mile radius objects). This in my mind would warm the moon enough for it to start making appropriate atmospheric changes to become more "Earthlike". Then following up with an array of nuclear heating devices placed onto the moon help it sustain its warmth. I think that the atmosphere would hold in alot of the warmth to maybe make this possible. I don't know how much heat can be generated from the core by crashing objects onto the surface, alot of information about Titan is not there. Alot would depend on its geological status.

 

But to answer your question as far as I know, there is no real theories in place for terraforming Titan, just fun to think about it as a possibility.

[us.2u]

I think your own ideas may have some possibilties Time-Traveler certainly not to be laughed at just think the idea of landing on the moon was laughed at once considering the lack of data we have about Titan pesenently which I'm sure is only tempory your constructive ideas in the survival of mankind at least by me are highly respected just think the more in depth data we get proberly the more yoiur insight & planning will hopefully work,so how about it everyone? can we all get more data about Titan & work towards a reality with Time-Travelers forward thinking in the interest of survival of us all?....us.2u

[us.2u]

Once a lunar landing idea was scoffed at; am I out of my depth for imagining one day it might be possible to colonise Titan? I am only an ordainary layman, without scientific knowledge but lots of imagination, & I thought Time-Travelers idea was good I haven't seen a better one yet, do we hope & wish for too much? are our resources too limited? I don't know, but I do know a lot of you are really clever & I really do appreciate your wisdom; so am I getting too excited over the possibility of survival throughout space or will be doomed like goldfish in a bowl never to leave this planet?...us.2u