Titan, like Earth, has an atmosphere and a variety of surface consisting of hydrocarbon mountains, lakes and seas.
American scientists have shown that the triboelectric effect (the appearance of electric charges in the material due to friction) responsible for the anomalous orientation of large dunes of Titan (the largest moon of Saturn). A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
In the Equatorial part of the Titan dunes are oriented against the direction of movement prevailing in the region of near-surface winds. The geometry of the hills, as scientists believe, connected with the triboelectric effect — appearance of electric forces of attraction between the rubbing together of hydrocarbon particles, forming dunes.
Strong winds, according to scientists, do not significantly change the geometry of large dunes, in contrast to the small. Scientists believe that the mutual attraction of the particles of hydrocarbon on Titan, due to triboelectric effect, an order of magnitude higher than for the grains of sand on Earth.
To such conclusions scientists came after laboratory experiments simulating the conditions of formation of hydrocarbon hills of Saturn.
Earlier the specialists from the USA and France in another way explained the anomalous orientation of the dunes of Titan. In their opinion, the upper atmosphere is already at altitudes above five kilometers from the moon’s surface rotate eastward faster than its underlying parts. This leads to rare but strong downstream flows, which, reaching the surface of Titan, causing the winds in the direction from East to West and methane storms, rebuilding the dunes.
Titan, like Earth, has an atmosphere and a variety of surface consisting of hydrocarbon mountains, lakes and seas. The atmosphere at 98.4 per cent is composed of nitrogen and methane and hydrogen. A satellite six times lighter than Earth and has a dense atmosphere.
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