So, hey, it rains Natural Gas on one of Saturn's Moons...

lol, I didn't know what the hell to name this thread =I

Source.

Quote:

It has taken nine years, hundreds of millions of dollars and a huge amount of effort, but planetary scientists have finally found another place with a topography quite like Earth's.
...
The images were eerily familiar. What the scientists saw looked like dunes, hills, valleys and -- most unusual -- rivers running into lakes. If further studies prove that the dark, ovoid features on the vast landscape are indeed lakes, Titan will be the only body in the solar system besides Earth possessing that geological feature.
...
Titan's surface temperature averages 292 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. The landscape, carved by wind and a constant drizzle, is made up largely of ice, not rock. It takes nearly 30 years for Saturn to orbit the sun, so each of Titan's seasons is a little more than seven years long.

The liquid that falls from the sky and runs down into the lakes isn't water. It is some form of liquid hydrocarbon -- very possibly methane, or what we know as natural gas. In Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, scientists reported that methane appears to fall on Titan in a constant, year-round slight drizzle.
...
Hydrocarbons evaporate off Titan's surface and recondense in clouds. During that process, some molecules react with sunlight, just as happens in Earth's smoggy cities. Because there is little oxygen on Titan, the compounds are different and even more unappealing.

Sorry if this doesn't interest folks in general, but I know there are a few space exploration supporters who would get a kick out of this.

A few important things. Firstly, veeeeeery few planets have a sort of wind and such things that'd deform surfaces. Mars had it some time ago (billions of years ago) but that has ended.

Secondly, a reason why gathering resources from other planets would be dandy. Of course, I'm sure by the time we could reach the planet, we'd be past natural gas needs.

Third, don't light a match =(

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Nothing wrong with lighting a match. Titan doesn't have enough oxygen for the fire to get far.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Arainach

Nothing wrong with lighting a match. Titan doesn't have enough oxygen for the fire to get far.

Don't kill my fun ;_; O'course there's too little oxygen (if any).

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Hey, maybe this will finally be reason enough for more private organizations to get into space. Now that there's something up there they can use. Run out of gas here? Whoever gets to titan first will be pretty rich if you can use the resources there. And well.. get it back here in a pratical and cheap way.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Shonos

Whoever gets to titan first will be pretty rich if you can use the resources there. And well.. get it back here in a pratical and cheap way.

Roundtrip would take years and years. Lining up both Earth and Saturn's orbits so they're the closest distance en route both ways would mean a timespan of countless years (offhand I'd like to know how many, to be exact).

I was speaking idiomatically.

Not to mention that methane is technically a greenhouse gas that releases carbon dioxide when it burns; we have enough problems with carbon dioxide to deal with without importing any from an extraterrestrial source.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Bear in mind a few things:
1) By the time we plan on actively harvesting resources (like this for example), we'll be much further along technologically. Stagnation in space exploration across the last three decades has put us behind where we should be. If we kept punching money to NASA like we were in Space Race days and what-not, we'd have much faster means of travel in space. Instead, we're pissing away the money elsewhere
2) Bear in mind that we probably won't be relying on Natural Gas for much of anything by the time we can finally establish some sort of route to get there and come back. If we still are using gas around that time, I'm sure we'll have a way to get it to burn cleaner. I can see the point you're addressing, though, in introducing more CO2 into our atmosphere than our planet carries.

Many things look unfeasible in their infancy. Space travel is in that stage. Evidently, it's growth has been stunted and it remains a midget

How ya doing, buddy?

lol, we think gas prices are bad now... if they start harvesting it in space... yikes... $100/g gasoline

Most amazing jew boots

Who says the methane has to be transported back to Earth to be used? If we are able to mine the resources of Titan, it is bound to be used for space purposes, such as fuel or an organic source in stations where greenhouse gases are of little concern. Imagine a base on Mimas or Tethys that might process this and turn it into rocket fuel or power relays between stations in the solar system.

Of course, we'll also have to deal with the cosmic environmentalists who will protest any enroachment into the purity and sanctity of the heavenly bodies as part of the interconnected universe and father sky life force.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Dullenplain

Who says the methane has to be transported back to Earth to be used? If we are able to mine the resources of Titan, it is bound to be used for space purposes, such as fuel or an organic source in stations where greenhouse gases are of little concern. Imagine a base on Mimas or Tethys that might process this and turn it into rocket fuel or power relays between stations in the solar system.

Of course, we'll also have to deal with the cosmic environmentalists who will protest any enroachment into the purity and sanctity of the heavenly bodies as part of the interconnected universe and father sky life force.

A few private companies (as well as NASA, when they have funding), are actively researching Methane rocket engines. Methane is great in that its a lot easier to store for long periods of time, unlike hydrogen, which leaks out of practicaly any container after a length of time. The engine isn't as powerful, but it would be a lot safer to use.

Also, getting to Titan would be a problem. Coming back wouldn't be as much (you're falling towards the sun), but then you deal with having to slow down enough when you get to the inner solar system.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Rybanis

Also, getting to Titan would be a problem. Coming back wouldn't be as much (you're falling towards the sun), but then you deal with having to slow down enough when you get to the inner solar system.

Yes. Getting back from Titan would definitely be a problem: since the atmosphere is full of methane, a rocket's ignition would cause neat FX, if not turning Titan into space dust.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

x86: See

Originally Posted by Arainach

Nothing wrong with lighting a match. Titan doesn't have enough oxygen for the fire to get far.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I've always liked the idea of shucking our mostly useless moon and sticking a cooler and more productive one in its place, i.e. Titan. Or maybe we could just keep the old one and have two moons. One for gas and one for cheese.

How ya doing, buddy?

Interestingly enough, this is the topic of the current Astronomy Picture of the Day. What I find most interesting, it the possibility of lightening, which begs the possibility of life!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by x86

Yes. Getting back from Titan would definitely be a problem: since the atmosphere is full of methane, a rocket's ignition would cause neat FX, if not turning Titan into space dust.

Lack of oxygen?

FELIPE NO

Combustion, even of methane, does not necessarily require oxygen. It is unlikely that any type of chain reaction would occur though, as excessive pressure is needed.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I think the distance right now, and our current technology status basically means we don't need to think about this for a few decades at least. I just don't foresee us getting far beyond Mars for a pretty long time. There's just too much beauracracy crap in all that space program.

Assuming we do get there, we'll probably require that energy to power toys and stuff, or just be used out there to save on transport costs of developing further away from Earth.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

That and there is plenty of stuff to do in the inner solar system. Perhaps enough to keep humanity occupied for centuries. The Moon, Mars, and the asteroid "belt" would all be massive undertakings.

There's nowhere I can't reach.