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Given that: 1) Four billion years ago Saturn was hotter and radiated strongly in the infra-red.

. . . . . . . . . 2) Like Earth's moon, Titan was then closer to its planet.

. . . . . . . . . 3) Like Earth, Venus and Mars, Titan's atmosphere was then full of greenhouse gases.

. . . . . . . . . 4) Like Earth, Saturn and its satellites were then closer to the sun.

. . . . . . . . . 5) Like Earth, Titan was warmed by tidal forces causing flexion of the lithosphere,

is it feasible that Titan once had seas and lakes of liquid water and Earth-like volcanoes?

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    $\begingroup$ By "Give that", do you mean "if we assume that", or "knowing that"? $\endgroup$
    – gerrit ♦
    Mar 11 '20 at 12:57
  • $\begingroup$ What I mean is that it is a near-certainty that these conditions applied. To give you one example, it is established beyond doubt that Earth's moon was once nearer its planet, but tidal energy captured from the Earth has boosted it into a higher orbit and it is still moving away. It would be very hard to believe that this phenomenon, which we know has occurred on one planet, didn't occur on another when the conditions were basically the same. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Walsby
    Mar 11 '20 at 18:28
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    $\begingroup$ I have never heard that Earth and Saturn were closer to the Sun in the past. Are you sure and do you have a source for that? $\endgroup$
    – gerrit ♦
    Mar 11 '20 at 19:20
  • $\begingroup$ Earth is known to be moving away from the sun at the rate of 15 cm per year, presumably propelled by the same mechanism that caused the moon to move away from Earth. It would be very odd if only one planet were affected and not others. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Walsby
    Mar 11 '20 at 19:51
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    $\begingroup$ @gerrit According to the Nice model (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice_model), all the giant planets were much closer to the Sun. Then Jupiter and Saturn crossed their 1:2 resonance, which propelled them to more eccentric orbits like in a game of pool! $\endgroup$
    – Jean-Marie Prival
    Mar 12 '20 at 8:12

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