Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Ocean Inside Enceladus

Scientists have new evidence that Saturn's small moon, Enceladus, is home to an ocean under the shell of ice that covers its surface. Salt has been detected in the sprays of water that erupt from the moon's southern polar region. Salt gets in water through the interaction of rock with liquid water. Therefore, liquid saltwater exists under the ice.

If this discovery holds, Enceladus would join Jupiter's much larger moons Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede as worlds with likely subsurface oceans. Further, adding liquid water, an energy source that keeps the water liquid, and possible organic compounds leads to the possiblity of life.

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