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Collection:
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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Collection
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Titan: Saturn's Smog Moon
Title
Titan: Saturn's Smog Moon
Title
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Explanation:
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The largest moon of Saturn [ http://www.seds.org…] is a rare wonder. Titan [ http://www.seds.org…] is the only one of Saturn's moons with an atmosphere, and one of only two moons in the Solar System [ http://www.seds.org…] with this distinction (Neptune's Triton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] is the other). Titan's thick cloudy atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, like Earth's, but contains much higher percentages of "smog-like" chemicals such as methane and ethane. The smog may be so thick that it actually rains "gasoline-like" liquids. The organic nature of some of the chemicals found in Titan [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]'s atmosphere cause some to speculate that Titan may harbor life! Because of its thick cloud cover, however, Titan's actual surface properties remain mysterious. Voyager 1 flew by in 1980 taking the above picture, and more recently much has been learned from observations [ http://oposite.stsc…] by the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The Cassini mission [ http://www.jpl.nasa…] launched in 1997 will map Titan's surface in 2004, helping to solve some of its mysteries.
Explanation
The largest moon of Saturn [ http://www.seds.org…] is a rare wonder. Titan [ http://www.seds.org…] is the only one of Saturn's moons with an atmosphere, and one of only two moons in the Solar System [ http://www.seds.org…] with this distinction (Neptune's Triton [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] is the other). Titan's thick cloudy atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, like Earth's, but contains much higher percentages of "smog-like" chemicals such as methane and ethane. The smog may be so thick that it actually rains "gasoline-like" liquids. The organic nature of some of the chemicals found in Titan [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]'s atmosphere cause some to speculate that Titan may harbor life! Because of its thick cloud cover, however, Titan's actual surface properties remain mysterious. Voyager 1 flew by in 1980 taking the above picture, and more recently much has been learned from observations [ http://oposite.stsc…] by the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The Cassini mission [ http://www.jpl.nasa…] launched in 1997 will map Titan's surface in 2004, helping to solve some of its mysteries. Explanation
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Credit and Copyright:
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Credit_and_Copyright
Credit and Copyright
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keyword:
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Titan
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keyword:
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Saturn
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facet_when:
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1997
facet_when
1997
facet_when
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facet_when:
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2004
facet_when
2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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1980
facet_when
1980
facet_when
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facet_where:
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Saturn
facet_where
Saturn
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Triton
facet_where
Triton
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_what:
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Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Voyager
facet_what
Voyager
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Moon
facet_what
Moon
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Saturn
facet_what
Saturn
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Cassini
facet_what
Cassini
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Titan
facet_what
Titan
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Neptune
facet_what
Neptune
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Voyager 1
facet_what
Voyager 1
facet_what
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facet_what:
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moon
facet_what
moon
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_when_year:
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1997
facet_when_year
1997
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2004
facet_when_year
2004
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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1980
facet_when_year
1980
facet_when_year
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-APOD-ap990207
UID
SPD-APOD-ap990207
UID
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