DDO Astronomy Speaker's Night - December 2025 - Atmospheric Processes on Titan in the Context of the Dragonfly Mission

Speaker: Elisa Dong

Topic: Atmospheric Processes on Titan in the Context of the Dragonfly Mission

Visit this unique historical site in Richmond Hill. Hear an engaging presentation led by astronomy experts and researchers covering a variety of exciting astronomy topics.

This will be followed by other activities and the opportunity to interact with RHDDO Astronomers! Please wear / bring appropriate supplies for being outside.

All individuals/family members attending this program must be registered and a registered adult must accompany any registered participants under the age of 16.

Please arrive 15 minutes before the program start time to be signed in.

This program runs rain or shine.

Who can attend: Ages 12 and up

Fee: 

- Up to 14 years old: $16.96

- 15 or more years old: $19.16

Registration Link: ActiveRH

Location: David Dunlap Observatory (DDO)

Organized by: RASC, Toronto Centre

Abstract: 

Dragonfly is an upcoming mission set to explore Titan, one of Saturn's moons that hosts a rich array of carbon species. Titan’s atmosphere is quite like Earth’s, with a dominant nitrogen atmosphere. Since Titan is so far away from the Sun, this Ocean World flows with liquid methane instead of water, and organic haze falls from the sky. The Dragonfly rotorcraft lander will be equipped with a suite of science and engineering equipment to investigate the pre-biotic chemistry of Titan as it flies between the dunes over the span of 3 years. Some additional science objectives include measuring atmospheric conditions, understanding the methane cycle, and learning more about the geological processes and the subsurface. In this talk, Elisa will give an overview of what we know about Titan following the Cassini-Huygens mission with a focus on Titan’s atmosphere, the upcoming Dragonfly mission, and some of her own research work detecting impactors during the Dragonfly mission.