Quote:
Originally Posted by Warren Platts
Titan is probably typical in that regard, so it's almost certain that Titan has an icy shell--the question is whether it is liquid or not. And while gravitational measurements can say whether Titan has an icy shell or not, such gravitational measurements cannot settle the question of whether that icy shell exists in a partially liquid state--as they cannot for Europa.
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But liquid and solid have different densities, and a discontinuity at a point which supports theoretical models would go some way towards confirming theory. Hence my cautious suggestion that it would "set physical limits on what is or is not plausible about [Titan's] internal structure".
But the Cassini team seem to be more upbeat than me. At the
Cassini imaging site they record::
Quote:
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The team will use this encounter, along with two others in the primary mission, to provide a better estimate of Titan's mass and determine how that mass is distributed in the interior. Such estimates will provide a better understanding of the moon's interior structure and determine whether Titan possesses an internal water ocean ...
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(My bold.)
Grant Hutchison