To study Titan's climate change, astronomers use the Earth as a model.

Dunes and mega- yards on Titan (NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASI / ESA)

Since the space station took up its position on the orbit of Saturn in 2004, scientists have received a huge amount of information from the spacecraft about the gas giant, its satellites and the environs of Saturn. The most surprising thing is Titan, the largest satellite of the planet in the solar system. Titan itself is practically a planet, with a thick atmosphere saturated with nitrogen, geological activity, water ice, deserts and methane dunes.

According to some experts, Titan is a copy of the early earth. And NASA stated that Titan is one of the most "earth-like" worlds that have been discovered at the moment. Of course, the similarity here is somewhat arbitrary, since Titan and the Earth are still very different in composition worlds. But to compare the Earth and Titan is not only possible, but also necessary.

Scientists from the University of Bordeaux (France) believe that the giant deserts and massive methane dunes found on Titan are a sign of significant changes in the planetoid climate. One of the most unusual mysteries of Titan is its atmosphere. It consists mainly of methane and nitrogen, and was supposed to disappear 100 million years after its appearance, under the influence of the light of the sun. Since the atmosphere still exists, it can be assumed that the initial conditions on Titan were different, changing under the influence of a number of factors (for example, volcanic eruptions). Understanding how and why these changes occurred will allow a person to understand how the conditions on the young Earth have changed over time.
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The study of Titan is complicated by the fact that scientists do not have direct access to the surface of the satellite of Saturn. The atmosphere of Titan is very dense, and so far, except for the Huygens probe , nothing created by man on the surface of this giant moon has fallen.

Studying Titan for many years helps Cassini. The device is equipped with a system RADAR, which allows you to look for the atmosphere, studying the surface of Titan. As a result, scientists have discovered that the surface of Titan is covered with linear methane dunes with a width of 2 kilometers and a length of 100 kilometers. Moreover, mega-yards and eolian formations common to the earth have also been discovered. The structural features of these objects, scientists from the University of Bordeaux decided to study on Earth using the method of comparative planetology. Specialists study images of the TerraSAR-X terrestrial apparatus, looking at images of linear sand dunes in Egypt and Namibia, as well as images of mega-yards in Iran and Chad. Scientists are also studying the features of the interaction of the radar signal with geological structures on the earth's surface.


Sand Dunes and Mega Yards on Earth (ESA / DLR)

Astronomers use the satellite signal TerraSar-X, studying various types of dunes and jars. The model of the interaction of the radio signal with these objects is then compared with what is on Titan. In particular, images taken by Cassini in 2008 are being studied. Some results are already there. For example, scientists have found that the equatorial dunes on Titan are not homogeneous, homogeneous, they consist of a material of different density.

Now, French experts are studying images of various regions of TITANA in 2009 and 2012, and in the course of their study, we managed to detect the presence of mega-yards, structures that are formed on Earth as a result of erosion of the bottom of ancient lakes. And this, in turn, allows scientists to talk about significant climate changes in Titan, because now only at the poles of Saturn's satellite can stable methane “reservoirs” exist, and the fact that mega-yards are found at the equator can be a sign of the existence of such “lakes here in the distant past of the satellite.

Now experts continue to study Titan, so we can hope for the soon appearance of more detailed information.