Updated

Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 15

Huygens Confirms Titan’s 93.65 K Surface Temperature, Backing 1991 Atmosphere Model

Updated

Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 15

Huygens Confirms Titan’s 93.65 K Surface Temperature, Backing 1991 Atmosphere Model

1 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Aug 15

Huygens measured Titan’s surface at 93.65 K and 1,467 hPa after landing in 2005, closely matching the 94 K temperature used in a 1991 heat-balance model.
That model says Titan’s thick nitrogen-methane atmosphere warms the surface by 21 K through pressure-induced opacity, while high-altitude haze cools it by 9 K by absorbing sunlight before it reaches the ground.
The two effects leave a net 12 K warming above Titan’s 82 K effective temperature, showing that large warming and cooling terms partly cancel at the surface.
Cassini separately found a 93.7 K surface brightness temperature near the landing site, reinforcing the surface estimate even though the 21 K and 9 K splits remain model-based rather than directly measured.

Sources

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