Titan is 5,150 kilometres (3,200 mi) in diameter, compared
to 4,879 kilometres (3,032 mi) for the planet Mercury, 3,474 kilometres (2,159
mi) for the Moon, and 12,742 kilometres (7,918 mi) for Earth. Before the
arrival of Voyager 1 in 1980, Titan was thought to be slightly larger than
Ganymede (diameter 5,262 kilometres (3,270 mi)) and thus the largest moon in
the Solar System; this was an overestimation caused by Titan's dense, opaque
atmosphere, which extends many kilometres above its surface and increases its
apparent diameter. Titan's diameter and mass (and thus its density) are similar
to those of the Jovian moons Ganymede and Callisto.
Based on its bulk density of 1.88 g/cm3, Titan's bulk composition is half water ice and half rocky material. Though similar in composition to Dione and Enceladus, it is denser due to gravitational compression.
Based on its bulk density of 1.88 g/cm3, Titan's bulk composition is half water ice and half rocky material. Though similar in composition to Dione and Enceladus, it is denser due to gravitational compression.
Titan is likely differentiated into several layers with a
3,400-kilometre (2,100 mi) rocky center surrounded by several layers composed of
different crystal forms of ice. Its interior may still be hot and there may be
a liquid layer consisting of a "magma" composed of water and ammonia
between the ice Ih crust and deeper ice layers made of high-pressure forms of
ice. The presence of ammonia allows water to remain liquid even at temperatures
as low as 176 K (−97 °C) (for eutectic mixture with water). Evidence for such
an ocean was uncovered by the Cassini probe in the form of natural
extremely-low-frequency radio waves in Titan's
atmosphere. Titan's surface is
thought to be a poor reflector of extremely-low-frequency radio waves, so they
may instead be reflecting off the liquid–ice boundary of a subsurface ocean.
Surface features were observed by the Cassini spacecraft to systematically shift
by up to 30 kilometres (19 mi) between October 2005 and May 2007, which
suggests that the crust is decoupled from the interior, and provides additional
evidence for an interior liquid layer. Further supporting evidence for a liquid
layer and decoupled ice shell, comes from the way the gravity field varies as
Titan orbits Saturn. Comparison of the gravity field with the RADAR-based
topography observations also suggests that the ice shell may be substantially
rigid.
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