DIX Planetary Science Seminar

Acetylene is the most abundant stratospheric product of methane photolysis that is in the solid state under the surface conditions on Saturn's moon Titan. It also has unique properties that make it of interest for the physical and chemical properties of the surface over time. It is much less volatile than methane but can still migrate from equatorial to polar latitudes on geologically short timescales. And acetylene carries sunlight to Titan's surface in the form of chemical energy since it will polymerize or cyclize with a positive heat of formation. This simple molecule may play an important mediating role in prebiotic chemistry on Titan, and its presence explains several peculiar features of the high latitudes on this enigmatic planet-sized moon.