NASA NTRS · 19860053399
Titan's organic chemistry
Abstract
Voyager discovered nine simple organic molecules in the atmosphere of Titan. Complex organic solids, called tholins, produced by irradiation of the simulated Titanian atmosphere, are consistent with measured properties of Titan from ultraviolet to microwave frequencies and are the likely main constituents of the observed red aerosols. The tholins contain many of the organic building blocks central to life on earth. At least 100-m, and possibly kms thicknesses of complex organics have been produced on Titan during the age of the solar system, and may exist today as submarine deposits beneath an extensive ocean of simple hydrocarbons.
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Sagan, C., Thompson, W. R., Khare, B. N.. 1985-01-01. Titan's organic chemistry. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19860053399
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