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Saturn Moon’s Surface May Conceal Salty Ocean
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Published: June 22, 2011
Five years ago, scientists discovered that Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, had geyserlike plumes spewing water vapor and ice particles.
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NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Saturn's sixth moon, Enceladus, backlighted by the sun, is spewing plumes of water ice.
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These plumes originate from a saltwater reservoir, according to a new study published online by the journal Nature.
“We discovered that the plume is stratified in a composition of ice,” said Frank Postberg , an astrophysicist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. “And the lower you go, the more salt-rich ice grains you find.”
Dr. Postberg and his collaborators analyzed samples of ice particles from the plumes gathered by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
The analysis found that salt-rich particles make up more than 99 percent of the solids ejected in Enceladus’s plumes.
The researchers theorize that there are actually two reservoirs connected to the plumes. The first is a saltwater reservoir close to the moon’s surface that is directly feeding the plumes.
But feeding this reservoir, there is most likely a larger, deeper saltwater reservoir, Dr. Postberg said.
“We imagine that between the ice and the ice core there is an ocean of depth and this is somehow connected to the surface reservoir,” he said.
Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth moon, is icy and just over 300 miles wide. The presence of water makes it one of a few other places in the solar system where life could exist.
But even if this isn’t the case, it makes life beyond Earth seem more plausible, Dr. Postberg said.
“If there is water in such an unexpected place,” he said, “it leaves possibility for the rest of the universe.”
A version of this article appeared in print on June 28, 2011, on page D3 of the New York edition with the headline: Saturn Moon’s Surface May Conceal Salty Ocean.
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Saturn Moon’s Surface May Conceal Salty Ocean
By SINDYA N. BHANOO
Published: June 22, 2011
Five years ago, scientists discovered that Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, had geyserlike plumes spewing water vapor and ice particles.
Enlarge This Image
NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
Saturn's sixth moon, Enceladus, backlighted by the sun, is spewing plumes of water ice.
Related
RSS Feed
Get Science News From The New York Times » These plumes originate from a saltwater reservoir, according to a new study published online by the journal Nature.
“We discovered that the plume is stratified in a composition of ice,” said Frank Postberg , an astrophysicist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. “And the lower you go, the more salt-rich ice grains you find.”
Dr. Postberg and his collaborators analyzed samples of ice particles from the plumes gathered by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
The analysis found that salt-rich particles make up more than 99 percent of the solids ejected in Enceladus’s plumes.
The researchers theorize that there are actually two reservoirs connected to the plumes. The first is a saltwater reservoir close to the moon’s surface that is directly feeding the plumes.
But feeding this reservoir, there is most likely a larger, deeper saltwater reservoir, Dr. Postberg said.
“We imagine that between the ice and the ice core there is an ocean of depth and this is somehow connected to the surface reservoir,” he said.
Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth moon, is icy and just over 300 miles wide. The presence of water makes it one of a few other places in the solar system where life could exist.
But even if this isn’t the case, it makes life beyond Earth seem more plausible, Dr. Postberg said.
“If there is water in such an unexpected place,” he said, “it leaves possibility for the rest of the universe.”
A version of this article appeared in print on June 28, 2011, on page D3 of the New York edition with the headline: Saturn Moon’s Surface May Conceal Salty Ocean.
Get 50% Off The New York Times & Free All Digital Access. Get Free E-mail Alerts on These Topics
Log In With Facebook Log in to see what your friends are sharing on nytimes.com. Privacy Policy | What’s This?
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