Corroborating the replenishment theory
Miller was also lead author for a 2019 paper published in the Astrophysical Journal that proposed a theoretical model for the replenishment of Titan’s atmosphere. In it, Miller and a team of scientists theorized that organic materials are heated up in Titan’s rocky interior. These would then release nitrogen and methane, which seeps out at the surface, forming the moon’s thick atmosphere.
In their new experiments, Miller and his team corroborated this theory by simulating the conditions of Titan’s interior in small vials. To do this, they heated organic materials within the vials to temperatures of 482 to 932 degree Fahrenheit (250 to 500°C) at pressures of up to 10 kilobars.
As expected, these experiments produced carbon gases like carbon dioxide and methane. They did so in sufficient quantities to be able to supply Titan’s atmospheric reservoir.