How Does Titan Retain a Finite Orbital Eccentricity?There is appreciable evidence for a significant hydrocarbon ocean on the surface of Titan. However, it has long been appreciated that tidal dissipation within a putative hydrocarbon ocean on Titan easily yields an orbital eccentricity damping time e which is short compared to the age of the solar system. Unless Titan s present eccentricity (e = 0.0288) were acquired recently, it requires that either: the ocean has a configuration which limits dissipation, or some mechanism exists which effectively maintains the eccentricity against dissipative damping. We argue for the latter. Specifically, the proximity of Jupiter and Saturn to a 5:2 mean motion resonance may provide a sufficient excitation source, and thereby effectively remove dynamical constraints on the dissipation and configuration of the Titan ocean.
Document ID
20040058017
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Bills, Bruce G. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Nimmo, Francis (California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Io, with a Dash of Titan