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Titan's Organic Chemistry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2017

C. Sagan ,
W. R. Thompson  and
B. N. Khare
C. Sagan
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Planetary Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 U.S.A.
W. R. Thompson
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Planetary Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 U.S.A.
B. N. Khare
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Planetary Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 U.S.A.

Abstract

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Voyager discovered nine simple organic molecules in the atmosphere of Titan. Complex organic solids, called tholins, produced by irradiation of simulated Titanian atmosphere are consistent with measured properties of Titan from ultraviolet to microwave frequencies, and are the likely main constituents of the observed red aerosols. The tholins contain many of the organic building blocks central to life on Earth. At least 100 m and possibly kms thickness of complex organics have been produced on Titan during the age of the solar system, and may exist today as submarine deposits beneath an extensive ocean of simple hydrocarbons.

Type
Section III. Planetary, Interplanetary and Interstellar Organic Matter
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 112: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Recent Developments , 1985 , pp. 107 - 121
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1985 

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