title: The tides of Titan.
abstract: We have detected in Cassini spacecraft data the signature of the periodic tidal stresses within Titan, driven by the eccentricity (e = 0.028) of its 16-day orbit around Saturn. Precise measurements of the acceleration of Cassini during six close flybys between 2006 and 2011 have revealed that Titan responds to the variable tidal field exerted by Saturn with periodic changes of its quadrupole gravity, at about 4% of the static value. Two independent determinations of the corresponding degree-2 Love number yield k(2) = 0.589 ± 0.150 and k(2) = 0.637 ± 0.224 (2σ). Such a large response to the tidal field requires that Titan's interior be deformable over time scales of the orbital period, in a way that is consistent with a global ocean at depth.
authors: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica e Aerospaziale, Università La Sapienza, via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome, Italy. luciano.iess@uniroma1.it
authors: Luciano
authors: L
authors: Iess
authors: Robert A
authors: RA
authors: Jacobson
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Ducci
authors: David J
authors: DJ
authors: Stevenson
authors: Jonathan I
authors: JI
authors: Lunine
authors: John W
authors: JW
authors: Armstrong
authors: Sami W
authors: SW
authors: Asmar
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Racioppa
authors: Nicole J
authors: NJ
authors: Rappaport
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Tortora
mesh_terms: D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D006112:Gravitation; D007053:Ice; D018539:Saturn; D018531:Spacecraft; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D007053:Ice; D014867:Water