Titan Question???

OK, Titan is a Saturn moon with a always thick cloud cover and a hydrocarbon-rich nitrogen atmosphere and has lakes of methane.

So my question is when the Huygens probe enters the atmosphere isn't the heat shield virtualy on fire? Because its said that if someone lit a match on Titan that the whole entire moon would ignite, completely destroying its uniqe environment. So wont the probe ignite it? or are the heat tiles very good at dissipating the intense heat very quickly that no flame can occur?

Also, if one spark could destroy a moon then I would really want to make sure that doesn't happen, like I wouldn't put any metal on the craft.

There is no oxygen, to support the combustion.

Otherwise WHOOOOOOOOOSH..
At least we would see the surface much easier! All that smog would be Fried!

Actually some heat shields are literally vaporized by heat and look like they're on flames because heat is enough to get ablating material to glow. (it's that ablation which removes most of the heat)

The silica-fibre tiles that cover it must prevent the temperature in the carbon-fibre honeycomb behind them rising above 1800 K...

huygens.esa.int...

but if it has methane lakes and say your standing in front of the lake with a Zippo lighter and light it and toss it in?

Your Zippo would not light.
A regular car, would not start.
No cookouts on the Barbeque.

With no oxygen, there is no combustion.

Even on Earth, with an Atmosphere containing about 20 percent Oxygen, there is a limit to how fast something Burns..This is why you blow on a hot ember, to make it hotter .

If the Earths atmosphere were 30 or 40 percent oxygen, it would be a much more dangerous place! Things would burn much faster and hotter..

No its gets hotter because of the wind. You cant blow oxygen, its impossible, you can clow Carbon Dioxide.

So, lets say i went to the ISS and put on a space suit and went outside and took out me butane lighter, your saying that it would be impossible to light?

Hotter because the wind is moving more oxygen to the ember..
An Exhale is not pure CO2, it's pretty much the same chemicals that you inhaled.
With a little less O2, and a little More CO2..We aren't that efficient at pulling all the O2 out....

Yes, you could not light a STANDARD lighter in space, that is what I am saying..

HOWEVER, if you had a lighter with a little O2 tank, AND a Butane Tank..It might work..depends how the lack of gravity effects the gasses..

Rocket engines are a good analogy, Liquid Hydrogen, and liquid Oygen, are used to make them burn properly..

Originally posted by Murcielago
No its gets hotter because of the wind. You cant blow oxygen, its impossible, you can clow Carbon Dioxide.

If I remember rightly you do not use all of the oxygen you breathe in and every time you exhale you will be expelling left over oxygen as well as carbon dioxide.