Titan

Capillary Processes In Extraterrestrial Contexts

By Keith Cowing
Status Report
astro-ph.EP
May 1, 2024
Filed under , , , ,
Capillary Processes In Extraterrestrial Contexts
A mosaic of infrared images of Titan north polar regions taken by the Narrow Angle Camera of the ISS instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft. The main hydrocarbon seas are clearly visible, their sizes are similar to those of the Great American lakes (Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute).

The Earth is no longer the only known celestial body containing one or more liquid phases.

The Cassini spacecraft has discovered seas of hydrocarbons at the surface of Titan, while a series of corroborating evidences argue in favour of the existence of an aqueous ocean beneath the icy crust of several moons. Capillarity embraces a family of physical processes occurring at the free surface of a liquid.

These phenomena depend on the liquid properties and on the local planetary conditions. Capillarity may have important direct or indirect implications on the geoscientific and astrobiological points of view. In this paper, we discuss capillarity physics among solar system objects and expected consequences for planetary science.

Daniel Cordier, Gerard Liger-Belair, David A. Bonhommeau, Thomas Seon, Thomas Appere, Nathalie Carrasco

Comments: This paper is accepted in “Journal of Geophysical Research: Planet”. Data and softwares are publicly available at this https URL
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Geophysics (physics.geo-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2404.19131 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2404.19131v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JE008248
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Submission history
From: Daniel Cordier
[v1] Mon, 29 Apr 2024 22:29:54 UTC (2,426 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.19131
Astrobiology

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻