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4w ago

Cassini Reanalysis Points to Slushy Titan Interior Without a Global Ocean

A measured 15-hour tidal lag points to a viscous, layered interior with isolated warm water pockets, a hypothesis the Dragonfly mission could test.

ARCHIVO – En la imagen, tomada por la nave espacial Cassini y proporcionada por la NASA el 12 de marzo de 2006, aparecen dos de las lunas de Saturno, la pequeña Epimeteo y Titán, envuelta en neblina, con los anillos A y F de Saturno extendiéndose por el marco. (NASA vía AP)
Hallazgo en Titán amplía posibilidades de vida fuera de la Tierra
Image
Esta concepción artística representa a la sonda Cassini de la NASA realizando uno de sus numerosos sobrevuelos cercanos a Titán, la luna más grande de Saturno. (Foto: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Overview

  • A peer‑reviewed Nature study led by NASA’s JPL reprocessed Cassini flyby and radio‑tracking data, finding tidal energy dissipation far higher than a global ocean model predicts.
  • The team measured an approximately 15‑hour delay between Saturn’s tidal forcing peak and Titan’s surface bulge, indicating a viscous, icy interior with localized liquid pockets.
  • Models propose an outer ice shell of about 170 km over deeper slush and water zones extending roughly another 400 km, yielding more than 550 km of aqueous layers.
  • Some isolated pockets could reach temperatures near 20°C, expanding potential habitability, though the study does not report any evidence of life.
  • Not all specialists agree with excluding a global ocean, with critics such as Luciano Iess urging caution as NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft prepares to investigate Titan’s surface and interior chemistry.