Which planetary body in the Solar System has a dense, nitrogen-rich atmosphere and stable bodies of liquid hydrocarbons (methane and ethane) on its surface?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Titan
- Step 1: Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the only moon in the Solar System with a dense, substantial atmosphere (surface pressure 1.45 times Earth's).
- Step 2: Data from the Cassini-Huygens mission confirmed surface rain, river channels, and vast polar seas (such as Kraken Mare) filled with liquid methane and ethane.
Answer
Titan
Why not the others: 'Triton' Triton orbits Neptune and features nitrogen ice and active cryogeysers, but no open liquid seas; 'Io' Io orbits Jupiter and is covered with sulfur and sulfur dioxide frost from hyperactive volcanoes; 'Enceladus' Enceladus has a global subsurface liquid ocean beneath an ice shell, erupting in water vapor plumes, but no surface hydrocarbon lakes.
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