TITANT Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest satellite observed in the galaxy, being second only to Ganymede but larger than Mercury [1]. It is the only satellite in the solar system to have a significant atmosphere that contains more than just trace elements. It is interesting for astronomers to see how an atmosphere can form and how the abundance of certain compounds can appear without biological activity. [2] Titan may be suited to certain types of biology and is analogous to Earth in many ways. When Titan was first observed, it was thought to be the largest satellite in the Solar System. The images taken of Titan did not take into account the atmosphere, so it was considered part of the satellite's radius. The atmosphere is denser than Earth's, being 1.5 bar at the surface. Combined with the planet's low gravity, this thick atmosphere would make aeronautics very efficient if humans colonized Titan, even allowing us to flap our "wings" and fly. [4]The atmosphere appears as a dark orange haze above the surface. The main constituent, as on Earth, is nitrogen (92% on Titan and 78.08% on Earth) [5] and in contrast Jupiter and Saturn whose atmospheres are mainly made up of ammonia (NH3). The haze itself is composed of long-chain hydrocarbons that one would not expect to find in Titan's atmosphere. Titan's atmosphere is very turbulent like those of Jupiter and Saturn, so it can be assumed that the atmosphere is well mixed. Being well mixed, one would expect the atmosphere to be in chemical equilibrium, and if this were true the only hydrocarbon found should be methane with traces of other hydrocarbons, but this is not true in the Titan haze. In terms of life, one of the conditions is... middle of paper... growing food (like plants) photosynthesis would not be a viable method, so other sources of energy would be needed. Other forms of life? If Titan does not appear to be a suitable environment for carbon-based life, is it possible that there is support for some life? One of the most suitable candidates is silicon-based life with methane as a solvent.[1] - http://web.archive.org/web/20051202030828/http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/features/saturn-story/moons.cfm[2] - Rothery, David A.. "Titan ." An introduction to astrobiology. Rev. 2011 ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. 171 - 198. Print.[3] -[4] - http://what-if.xkcd.com/30/[5] - http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html[6 temp] - Darnell, James E., Harvey F. Lodish, and David Baltimore. Molecular cell biology. 4th ed. New York: Scientific American Books:, 1990. Print.