Scientists to Scan Titan's Atmosphere From Earth

News
By published
Scientists to Scan Titan's Atmosphere From Earth
The haze of Titan's atmosphere stands out in this image taken by the Cassini spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn. (Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Intstitute.)

HONOLULU (AP) - Scientistsstudying the atmosphere of Saturn'smoon, Titan,hope their research will reveal clues about the nature of Earth's atmospherebillions of years ago.

Ralf Kaiser, a Universityof Hawaii physical chemist and associate professor, is leading the team ofinternational scientists recently awarded a five-year, $2.5 million grant forthe project from the National Science Foundation's Collaborative Research in ChemistryProgram.

Titan's atmosphere is consideredideal for gaining a better understanding of the early days of Earth's atmosphere because it andproto-Earth are believed to have emerged with similar atmospheres from thesolar nebula - the cloud of dust and gas from which it is believed our solarsystem originated.

Hydrocarbon molecules inTitan's atmospheric layers also absorb destructive ultraviolet radiation fromthe sun, preserving other molecules that are important for understanding theorigin and evolution of the planets.

"Understanding theformation and growth mechanisms of these molecules and applying these findingsto better comprehend the hydrocarbon chemistry of Titan's atmosphere is a keyobjective of our project,'' Kaiser said.

Other schools participatingin the project include Wayne State University, Florida InternationalUniversity, Emory University, California Institute of Technology and France'sUniversity of Rennes.

The team's first workshopis scheduled for February 2007.

The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Contributing website

The Associated Press, also known as the AP, is a wire service that provides articles to a host of newspapers and websites. The news organization was founded in 1846, when the company delivered the news by pony express. The Associated Press journalists cover news from around the world and in all subject matters.