Wow, this is fascinating! Underground Ocean on Saturns Moon Enceladus. April 3, 2014: NASAs Cassini spacecraft and Deep Space Network have uncovered evidence that Saturns moon Enceladus harbors a large underground ocean, furthering scientific interest in the moon as a potential home to extraterrestrial microbes. Researchers theorized the presence of an interior reservoir of liquid water in 2005 when Cassini discovered water vapor and ice spewing from vents near the moons south pole. New data on the moons gravity field reported in the April 4, 2014, edition of the journal Science strengthen the case for an ocean hidden inside Enceladus. The gravity measurements suggest a large, possibly regional, ocean about 6 miles (10 kilometers) deep, beneath an ice shell about 19 to 25 miles (30 to 40 kilometers) thick. The subsurface ocean evidence supports the inclusion of Enceladus among the most likely places in our solar system to host microbial life. Before Cassini reached Saturn in July 2004, no version of that short list included this icy moon, barely 300 miles (500 kilometers) in diameter. More at link! science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/03apr_deepocean/
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 03:35:33 +0000
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