Moons of the Solar System Part 3

Continuing on from the previous two parts of the Moons of the Solar Systems, this blog will be the last installment. In this blog, we will learn about Saturn's moons, Enceladus and Titan, Uranus's moon, Titania, and Neptune's moon, Triton. It is important to note that each of these planets have more moons than the ones we will discuss, but due to the lack of information surrounding them, we cannot include them.

Enceladus

Discovered by William Herschel, a British astronomer, on August 28, 1789, Enceladus is one of many of Saturn's moons;Its name comes from a giant in greek mythology. Scientists believe that Enceladus may be a potential host for life because it has most key chemical ingredients that are required for life. Scientists were able to discover this fact due to the fact that Enceladus "sprays its ocean into space", which allows for spacecrafts to sample it (NASA, 2020). In fact, there is even evidence to believe that Enceladus has hydrothermal; vents in its ocean(s). This is an important fact in our search of life beyond Earth, because Earth has its very own set of hydrothermal vents that also play host to life. Hydrothermal vents on Earth allow for life to exist in the deepest parts of its oceans because it acts as a heat source; thus, scientists theorize that life may also potentially exist on Enceladus, despite the fact that it is an extremely cold environment. Temperatures here are about -330 degrees Fahrenheit, or about -201 degrees Celsius. One reason for these temperatures, besides the distance of Enceladus from the Sun, is that Enceladus is able to reflect most sunlight off its surface. This is due to the fact that the icy particles that are sprayed into space by Enceladus fall back to its surface as snow, causing its surface to appear white. While most of the icy particles fall back to Enceladus' surface, some of them are captured by the gravity of Saturn, forming a ring around it.

Titan

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, and is the second largest moon in the Solar System. In fact, it has a radius of 1,600 miles and is about fifty percent wider than the Earth's moon. Titan has a "golden[,] hazy atmosphere" and it is the only moon in the Solar System to have a thick atmosphere (NASA, 2021). Its atmosphere is mainly composed of nitrogen, with small amounts of methane present as well. Titan contains liquid bodies, such as rivers and lakes; in fact, it is the only other place, in addition to the Earth, to be known to have a cycle of its liquids. Titan's cycle of its liquids is similar to that of the Earth's water cycle, in which the liquids rain from clouds, flow across its surface, and fill rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. Titan takes about 15 days and 22 hours to complete its orbit around Saturn, and one year on Titan is equivalent to about 29 Earth years. Because Titan's tilt is about the same as Saturn's, relative to the Sun, it experiences seasons at the same time as Saturn does. One season on Titan lasts more than seven Earth years. Temperatures on Titan are about -290 degrees Fahrenheit, or about -179 Celsius; this is partly due to the fact that Titan is located about 9.5 AU from the Sun and thus light takes about 80 minutes to reach it.

Titania

Discovered on January 11, 1787 by William Hershel, Titania is the largest moon of Uranus. It was named after the queen of fairies in William Shakespear's poem, "A Midsummer's Dream". Scientists have reason to believe that Titania may be, or had been, geologically active. Titania has a diameter of about 1000 miles.

Triton

Discovered by William Lassell on October 10, 1846, Triton is the largest moon of Neptune. Triton's name comes from the son of Poseidon, but Triton was not named until the discovery of Neptune's second moon, Nereid. Before Nereid's discovery, Triton was known as "the satellite of Neptune". Scientists theorize that Triton may have been an object that was captured by Neptune from the Kuiper Belt. A unique fact about Triton is that it is the only moon in our Solar System that orbits opposite of its planet's rotation. Triton's surface is cratered, with "smooth volcanic plains", which were formed by lava flows (NASA, 2021). During Voyager 2's flyby of Neptune, it was discovered that there are active geysers as well on Triton. It has a crust that is made up of frozen nitrogen, and a mantle made up of rock and metal. Surface temperatures here are about -391 Fahrenheit or about -235 Celsius. Its atmosphere is thin and is primarily composed of nitrogen, with small amounts of methane as well.

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Thank you for reaching the end of this blog! We hope you learned something new about some of the moons of the Solar System. If you are interested in learning about the planets of the Solar System, or any other topic in Astronomy, check out our previous blogs! Be sure to like, comment, and share! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us by going to the Contact Form located at the top right. Follow us on Instagram for more content! And as always, keep gazing skywards!

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Bibliography

Greicius, T. (2020, June 4). Saturn's moon Titan drifting away faster than previously thought. NASA. Retrieved

September 12, 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/saturns-moon-titan-drifting-away-faster-than-previously-thought

NASA. (2019, December 19). In depth. NASA. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/uranus-moons/titania/in-depth/

NASA. (2020, October 8). Enceladus. NASA. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/enceladus/in-depth/

NASA. (2021, February 4). In depth. NASA. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/neptune-moons/triton/in-depth/

NASA. (2021, February 4). Titan - in depth. NASA. Retrieved September 12, 2022, from

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/titan/in-depth/