The latest studies by scientists at NASA and the Italian Space Agency have found that Saturn’s moon Titan is drifting away from the planet 100 times faster than previously thought. The data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have revealed that the drifting rate of Titan is about 4 inches(11 centimetres) per year. Not just Titan but other moons are also doing the same with their host planets. Even our moon is distancing itself from mother-earth. According to NASA, our moon moves about 1.5 inches away each year. NASA has a compelling explanation on this behaviour of the moons. While a moon orbits, its gravity pulls on the planet and cause a temporary bulge in the planet. As time passes, the energy formed due to this bulging will get transferred from planet to the moon and in result, it pushes the moon away.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Scientists believe that this new finding about Saturn’s moon Titan will help us to answer a long-standing question. Even though we know the age of Saturn, the understandings of the formation of its rings and the moons are less certain. As of now, Titan is 1.2 million kilometres away from Saturn. The new turn of events about the drift rate suggests that the moon was closer to Saturn in the earlier times and the whole system expanded faster than previously thought. “This result brings an important new piece of the puzzle for the highly debated question of the age of the Saturn system and how its moons formed,” said by Valery Lainey, the lead author of this work.
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