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Will Titan’s Migration Away From Saturn Result in its Release from Saturn’s Gravitational Pull?

-- Nita | August 8, 2020

Question:

Since Titan is moving away from Saturn 4 inches per year, is it possible that it will get so far that it gets adopted by the sun’s gravitational pull? If so, does it then become a planet?

-- Nita

Answer:

Indeed a recent study found that Saturn’s moon Titan is moving away from Saturn at a much faster rate than previously thought: roughly 11 centimeters per year. This slow migration of Titan will happen over a timescale of about 10 billion years, though, which is longer than the timescale for our Sun to evolve into a Red Giant star in about 5 billion years, which will dramatically change the structure of our solar system.

-- Jeff Mangum

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