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How does solar heating create a temperature inversion in Titan’s stratosphere?
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Titan
Titan, moon of Saturn, photographed by Voyager 2 on August 25, 1981, at a distance of 907,000 km (564,000 miles). Green and violet images were combined to make this photograph, which shows the extended atmosphere of the satellite.
Titan’s stratosphere features a temperature inversion—a layer where temperatures increase with altitude—primarily due to the presence of a pervasive haze.12
This haze is composed of complex organic solids produced by the action of solar ultraviolet light on Titan’s nitrogen-methane atmosphere. These particles are highly effective at absorbing solar radiation. As the haze particles absorb this energy, they heat the surrounding atmospheric layers, creating a temperature inversion in the stratosphere. This thermal structure is significant because it prevents the haze layer from dissipating through convection, effectively trapping the smog-like particles within the atmosphere.132