Saturn Moon Titan: Drifting faster than before
The moon of Saturn, Titan is drifting away faster than before. This has been identified by the researchers in NASA and also scientists in Italian Space Agency.
Highlights
According to the data received from the Cassini Spacecraft of NASA, scientists believed that the Titan has been moving away from its host planet Saturn. However, the recent studies say that the moon is drifting 100 times faster. This is about 4 inches every year.
Science of drifting moons
The moons begin drifting away from their host planets because as the moons orbit, their gravitational pull on the planet creates temporary bulge in the planet. This bulge in turn increases the energy exerted by the planet on its moon. It also transfers the subsiding and bulging energy to its moon.
The earth’s own moon drifts 1.5 inches from the Earth every year.
There are around 82 moons that are orbiting Saturn.
Cassini
The Cassini Space Craft Mission, or the Cassini-Huygens Mission is a joint space mission of NASA. Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. The mission was launched to study saturn, its moons, and rings.
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Month: Current Affairs - June, 2020