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Just Below the Surface
2006.03.10 (Fri) 12:02
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day was absolutely fascinating, and pointed us toward a news release on NASA's JPL site:
NASA's Cassini spacecraft may have found evidence of liquid water reservoirs that erupt in Yellowstone-like geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. The rare occurrence of liquid water so near the surface raises many new questions about the mysterious moon.
Dr. Andrew Ingersoll, an imaging team member, explains why this is such a novel discovery:
"Other moons in the solar system have liquid-water oceans covered by kilometers of icy crust...What's different here is that pockets of liquid water may be no more than tens of meters below the surface."
[our emphasis]
Pretty damn cool. As imaging team leader Dr. Carolyn Porco points out:
"...if we are right, we have significantly broadened the diversity of solar system environments where we might possibly have conditions suitable for living organisms."
As with all good science, new data are compared to old observations, and a hypothesis that neatly accommodates both old and new information means you're probably on the right track. Suddenly everything falls into place:
Other unexplained oddities now make sense. "As Cassini approached Saturn, we discovered that the Saturnian system is filled with oxygen atoms. At the time we had no idea where the oxygen was coming from," said Dr. Candy Hansen, Cassini scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. "Now we know that Enceladus is spewing out water molecules, which break down into oxygen and hydrogen."
Of course, new data also lead to even more questions — including the big one.
Why is Enceladus currently so active? Are other sites on Enceladus active? Might this activity have been continuous enough over the moon's history for life to have had a chance to take hold in the moon's interior?
Cassini will be doing another fly-by of Enceladus in Spring 2008, so even more data can be gathered and analyzed then. But even after Cassini's primary mission is completed, there will still be plenty of research and examination to conduct.
"There's no question that, along with the moon Titan, Enceladus should be a very high priority for us. Saturn has given us two exciting worlds to explore," said Dr. Jonathan Lunine, Cassini interdisciplinary scientist, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz.
We're looking forward to it!
It's not Hoth....
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[ Filed under: % Science & Technology ]
Comments (12)
Brian, 2006.03.10 (Fri) 14:14 [Link] »
The Two Percent Company, 2006.03.10 (Fri) 15:31 [Link] »
Brian, 2006.03.10 (Fri) 15:59 [Link] »
Eric Wallace, 2006.03.11 (Sat) 01:45 [Link] »
Michael Bains, 2006.03.11 (Sat) 15:24 [Link] »
Brian, 2006.03.11 (Sat) 16:29 [Link] »
Michael Bains, 2006.03.11 (Sat) 16:52 [Link] »
Ford, 2006.03.12 (Sun) 12:37 [Link] »
Brian, 2006.03.12 (Sun) 14:07 [Link] »
The Two Percent Company, 2006.03.13 (Mon) 23:26 [Link] »
Brian, 2006.03.14 (Tue) 01:33 [Link] »
GOD777, 2007.02.04 (Sun) 22:40 [Link] »
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