April 30, 2009 -- New research suggests the ice volcanoes blasting off Saturn's moon Enceladus are rooted in an underground sea, a finding that raises the prospect for microbial life. Scientists have been trying to figure out what is happening on Enceladus to generate the icy geysers that have been photographed, analyzed and sampled by the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft. "This debate has been going on for years -- whether there has been liquid water, whether there could be an underground ocean," Cassini scientist team member Candice Hansen-Koharcheck told Discovery News. Astronomers used ground-based telescopes to look for molecules of sodium, which should be present if rock had mingled with liquid water. They didn't find any, silencing proponents making a case for a subsurface sea on Enceladus. Related Content:
That point is now moot. At a meeting of European geoscientists in Vienna last week, Frank Postberg with Germany's Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics and colleagues explained that the sodium is, in fact, there -- it was simply bound in a form (sodium chloride) not detectable by Earth-bound telescopes. "This is only possible if the plume source is liquid water that is or has been in contact with the rocky material of Enceladus' core," the scientists wrote in the EGU General Assembly's 2009 Geophysical Research Abstracts. Added Carolyn Porco, head of the Cassini imaging team, "Suffice it to say the prospects of a sub-surface sea on Enceladus are excellent." Before Cassini's arrival, scientists had little interest in the small moon, which is about the size of Scotland, as all of its internal heat should have been released long ago. But the spacecraft found a plume shooting off the moon's south pole, setting off a wave of research and computer modeling looking into how that could be happening. Tidal forces, caused by the gravitational tug of sister moon Dione and other bodies, appear to be the driver, though researchers haven't dismissed other mechanisms such as the decay of radioactive materials. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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