QUOTE (tty @ Dec 18 2008, 02:41 PM)
As far as I can see you estimate in the paper that the skin temperature of Huygens was 5 K above ambient at landing rising to "a few tens of K above ambient" which I should think would preclude condensation.
From the link in the opening post:
"Scientists think heat from the probe caused humid air to rise and condense on the cold edge of the craft."I think protruding edges would be closer to the ambient temperature than would the overall surface temperature of the probe. And since the ambient temperature quickly rose 24 degrees before impact:
"....just prior to surface impact, although the environmental temperature increases from 70 to 94 K...." (from Ralph Lorenz's paper), I can see how it would be possible for protruding edges such as those around the DISR to be colder than the surface ambient temperature for a while after landing.