Primal Space

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10.

Titan's Polar Vortices

Titan is an astonishing moon.

It is unique in the solar system in that it is the only moon to have a substantial atmosphere.

And it really is substantial.

Titan is much smaller than Earth, and yet its atmosphere is 1.2 times the mass of Earth's.

Because of this, Titan's atmosphere stretches far into space for hundreds of kilometers.

In fact, its atmosphere at the surface is thick enough and the gravity low enough that flapping your arms on Titan with makeshift wings attached would allow you to fly.

When Cassini made its closest approach over Titan in 2014, it blew by at an altitude of only 880 kilometers above Titan's surface.

Even from this altitude, atmospheric drag from the flyby forced Cassini to use its thrusters to maintain its trajectory.

In comparison, the ISS orbits Earth at an altitude of only 400 kilometers.

Now, storms on Titan are not so easy to spot from space, but it's clear that methane clouds form and precipitation occurs regularly on this world.

However, the most noticeable storm on Titan is the one found semi-permanently over its south pole.

Titan is thought to be a super rotator, or in other words, its atmosphere rotates faster than its surface.

And this is definitely the case with this vortex, which rotates once every nine hours compared to the 16-day rotation period of Titan.

Initial research suggests this vortex is related to seasonal variations on the moon,

forming as the pole heads into its 15-year winter.

Number nine, Mars Cyclone.

Mars is already pretty well known for its planet-wide dust storms, storms that kick up so much of Mars' ultrafine dust that it almost obscures the view of the surface from space.