Did Titan Give Saturn its Tilt? – Universe Today
[ad_1]
Giant planets like Saturn don’t just tilt over all by themselves: something has to knock them over, or tug on them gravitationally, to push them off axis. Scientists expect that when new planets are born, they form with almost no tilt at all, lining up like spinning tops, with their equators level to the orbital plane in which they circle around their sun.
But no planet in our solar system is perfectly level. Jupiter is the closest, boasting an obliquity (tilt) of just 3.12 degrees. Earth’s obliquity is much more substantive at 23.45 degrees, causing us to experience an annual cycle of seasons as our homeworld wobbles on its axis. Saturn’s tilt is more extreme yet, with an obliquity of 26.73 degrees (though it’s nowhere near as extreme as Uranus, which is practically sideways, spinning at a 97.86-degree angle to its orbital plane).
We can learn a lot from these obliquities.
We know, for example, from geological evidence gathered during the Apollo missions, that Earth’s tilt was likely the result of massive impacts with other rocky objects early in the planet’s history, the largest of which broke off and formed our Moon. Just as archeologists examine clay pots and fragments of bone to piece together ancient cultures, physicists can examine planetary tilts to understand the Solar System’s past. Modern-day wobbles are evidence of dramatic events long ago. Or, as a new paper suggests, perhaps not-so-long-ago.
A team of researchers from the Paris Observatory and the University of Pisa, led by Melaine Saillenfest, suggest that the origin of Saturn’s tilt may be much more recent than previously believed, and that its largest moon, Titan, may be to blame.
Astronomers traditionally believed that Saturn’s tilt had nothing to do with its moons, but rather more to do with interactions between it and its fellow gas giants. One mainstream theory of solar system formation, known as the Nice model, suggests that about four billion years ago, a great migration occurred in which the giant planets moved slowly outwards, under the gravitational influence of each other and smaller planetesimals.
According to this model, the culprit responsible for Saturn’s tilt was Neptune, which tugged the ringed giant over as it swept out towards the Kuiper belt (actually, evidence from the Cassini mission showed that Saturn’s rings are fairly new: they probably weren’t around during the great migration. But I digress). If the Nice model is to be believed, planetary obliquities were set in stone a long time ago, and have remained relatively stable since.
The new theory proposed by Saillenfest and the team disagrees. They suggest instead that a migration of Titan in the recent past (about 1 billion years ago) is equally capable of explaining the tilt Saturn has today. Titan’s orbit may have remained regular for billions of years, but their model shows that an orbital resonance with Saturn could have occurred recently, simultaneously changing the moon’s orbit and forcing a nearly upright Saturn to fall sideways.
It’s hard to be sure which model is correct without more evidence (maybe the upcoming Dragonfly mission to Titan can turn up something). But the possibility of such a recent migration opens up possibilities for future changes to the Solar System. As the researchers put it, the obliquities of giant planets “are not settled once for all, but continuously evolve as a result of the migration of their satellites.” The Solar System as we know it today may not be as stable or unchanging as it seems, and may be in for future disturbances to come (though I wouldn’t lose sleep over it – not for a billion years or so).
Saillenfest and coauthor’s Giacomo Lari and Gwenaël Boué published their paper in Nature Astronomy earlier this year.
Resources:
Melaine Saillenfest, Giacomo Lari and Gwenaël Boué “The large obliquity of Saturn explained by the fast migration of Titan.” Nature Astronomy.
Manuscript available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.04104.
[ad_2]
Original Post
I’m not positive where you are getting your info, but good topic. I must spend some time learning more or working out more. Thanks for wonderful information I was looking for this information for my mission.
Can I just say what a aid to find somebody who actually is aware of what theyre speaking about on the internet. You undoubtedly know find out how to bring a difficulty to gentle and make it important. More people need to read this and understand this facet of the story. I cant believe youre not more popular since you definitely have the gift.
This design is wicked! You definitely know how to keep a reader entertained. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Excellent job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
hello!,I really like your writing so a lot! percentage we be in contact extra approximately your article on AOL? I require an expert in this space to unravel my problem. May be that’s you! Looking ahead to look you.
Pretty! This was a really wonderful post. Thank you for your provided information.
My spouse and I stumbled over here from a different page and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to looking at your web page repeatedly.
What i don’t understood is actually how you’re not actually much more well-liked than you might be now. You’re very intelligent. You know therefore considerably in the case of this subject, made me individually consider it from so many numerous angles. Its like women and men don’t seem to be interested until it’s one thing to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your individual stuffs outstanding. At all times take care of it up!
What i do not realize is in fact how you’re not actually a lot more neatly-liked than you may be now. You’re very intelligent. You already know therefore considerably with regards to this matter, produced me in my view consider it from numerous varied angles. Its like men and women are not involved until it’s something to accomplish with Girl gaga! Your personal stuffs nice. At all times care for it up!
Precisely what I was looking for, regards for putting up.
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!
Thanks for sharing superb informations. Your website is so cool. I am impressed by the details that you have on this site. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the information I already searched everywhere and just couldn’t come across. What a perfect web-site.
he blog was how do i say it… relevant, finally something that helped me. Thanks
Great beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your website, how could i subscribe for a blog website? The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear concept
Some genuinely fantastic articles on this site, thankyou for contribution.
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your website? My website is in the very same niche as yours and my users would truly benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Thanks a lot!
I like this post, enjoyed this one thank you for putting up. “Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.” by Ronald Reagan.
There is noticeably a bundle to find out about this. I assume you made sure good points in options also.
fantastic post, very informative. I wonder why the other specialists of this sector do not notice this. You should continue your writing. I’m confident, you have a huge readers’ base already!
Hi my family member! I wish to say that this article is awesome, nice written and come with approximately all important infos. I?¦d like to look more posts like this .
Great post, you have pointed out some wonderful points, I as well think this s a very good website.
This really answered my drawback, thank you!
It¦s actually a great and helpful piece of information. I¦m happy that you shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
Perfectly written articles, regards for information .
It¦s truly a nice and helpful piece of info. I¦m glad that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very hard to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal. I must say that you’ve done a very good job with this. In addition, the blog loads super quick for me on Firefox. Excellent Blog!
Hello, Neat post. There is a problem along with your site in web explorer, might test thisK IE nonetheless is the marketplace chief and a big component to people will pass over your magnificent writing because of this problem.
My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on several websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
Hey! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading your blog posts. Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same topics? Thanks!
I simply needed to thank you so much yet again. I am not sure what I might have used in the absence of those advice contributed by you regarding that subject. It had been a real fearsome dilemma in my view, nevertheless looking at the specialised strategy you managed it made me to weep with delight. I’m just happier for the guidance and as well , hope that you realize what a powerful job you happen to be carrying out educating people today with the aid of your site. I am sure you’ve never come across any of us.
I have been browsing on-line more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is lovely value sufficient for me. In my view, if all website owners and bloggers made just right content material as you did, the web will probably be a lot more helpful than ever before.
Very interesting points you have remarked, appreciate it for putting up. “Curiosity is the key to creativity.” by Akio Morita.
It is actually a nice and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you just shared this useful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
What i do not understood is in reality how you’re not really a lot more well-appreciated than you might be now. You’re so intelligent. You recognize therefore significantly when it comes to this subject, produced me in my opinion believe it from numerous numerous angles. Its like men and women don’t seem to be interested unless it is something to do with Girl gaga! Your personal stuffs excellent. Always care for it up!
Hello, Neat post. There is an issue with your site in internet explorer, could check this… IE nonetheless is the market chief and a good component of other folks will omit your magnificent writing due to this problem.
Awsome website! I am loving it!! Will be back later to read some more. I am bookmarking your feeds also.
Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a hard time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
Great line up. We will be linking to this great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.