1. Titan's atmospheric temperatures, winds, and composition.
- Author
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Flasar FM, Achterberg RK, Conrath BJ, Gierasch PJ, Kunde VG, Nixon CA, Bjoraker GL, Jennings DE, Romani PN, Simon-Miller AA, Bézard B, Coustenis A, Irwin PG, Teanby NA, Brasunas J, Pearl JC, Segura ME, Carlson RC, Mamoutkine A, Schinder PJ, Barucci A, Courtin R, Fouchet T, Gautier D, Lellouch E, Marten A, Prangé R, Vinatier S, Strobel DF, Calcutt SB, Read PL, Taylor FW, Bowles N, Samuelson RE, Orton GS, Spilker LJ, Owen TC, Spencer JR, Showalter MR, Ferrari C, Abbas MM, Raulin F, Edgington S, Ade P, and Wishnow EH
- Subjects
- Atmosphere, Carbon Monoxide, Extraterrestrial Environment, Spacecraft, Temperature, Wind, Hydrocarbons, Methane, Nitriles, Saturn
- Abstract
Temperatures obtained from early Cassini infrared observations of Titan show a stratopause at an altitude of 310 kilometers (and 186 kelvin at 15 degrees S). Stratospheric temperatures are coldest in the winter northern hemisphere, with zonal winds reaching 160 meters per second. The concentrations of several stratospheric organic compounds are enhanced at mid- and high northern latitudes, and the strong zonal winds may inhibit mixing between these latitudes and the rest of Titan. Above the south pole, temperatures in the stratosphere are 4 to 5 kelvin cooler than at the equator. The stratospheric mole fractions of methane and carbon monoxide are (1.6 +/- 0.5) x 10(-2) and (4.5 +/- 1.5) x 10(-5), respectively.
- Published
- 2005
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