Mini Curiosity Blog: So what happens if you light a match on Titan?

Methane and ethane are flammable. Like, really flammable. They’re also the atmosphere, rain, and part of the surface of Titan. So why, oh why on Titan, does a meteorite not spark a giant moon-wide firestorm? Cue the images of raining fire and veins of fire spreading over rivers at impossible speeds like smoke-filling alveoli.

Alright, so apparently it’s less cool than that. As it happens, lighting a match on Titan is kind of like lighting a match inside a tank of gasoline. No oxygen, no fire.

So can we still start a fire on Titan? Well… technically, but not outside a human habitat. I’m figuring most humans need oxygen, so if we took up habitation on the moon that supplied us with oxygen static might be a hazard if even a tiny bit of the methane air got into a human… house? Ship? And somebody lit a cigar… because mark my words cigars on Titan will be a thing one day.

The good news is that putting out the fire would be as simple as dawning a futuristic cryo-space suit, opening the front door and letting all the methane in.