Hidden Nook
"Because in Cyberspace, no one can hear you scream."
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Saturn's Mini Moon Is Geologically Active
[Media Source*] (Posted on Blogger News)
(New Scientist Space) Scientists are shocked by this volcanic activity on what should be a small, quiet moon. "It is a stunning surprise," said Dennis Matson, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, US. But researchers are beginning to develop theories about what is going on.
One of Saturn's minor moons, Enceladus is apparently very active underneath the surface as evidenced by the plume of ice dust hundreds of kilometers from the surface. What makes this world even more strange is the fact that this moon is only 155 miles wide, yet it is displaying itself to be more geologically active than Jupiter's Europa.
(New Scientist Space) But Cassini also detected dust and whole ice grains in the plume, implying that the material is squirted out of Enceladus with some force. That would need a lot of heat  far too much to come from the core.
Many theories have surfaced to the reason for the new phenomenon, ranging from radioactive material within the moon's core to gravitational pulls from Saturn. Either way, these theories do not satisfy why Enceladus is spewing dust and ice at such a violent height. We will probably never discover the real reasons why this minor moon is active until a landing on the surface (whether by machines or colonists) is attempted.
Deutsch ⢠Español ⢠Français ⢠Italiano ⢠Portugese ⢠æ¥æ¬èª ⢠íêµ â¢ æ±è¯
Comment Policy: Comments posted here do not necessarily reflect the views of this site or the authors, and are the legal responsibility of the original commenter. Intelligent opinions welcome. Comment here.
By Darnell Clayton ⢠8:59 PM ⢠Email Post ⢠â¢
Enter your email address below to subscribe.
Button Membership
Important Information
View Blog Stats
Plus 10,667 hits before August 12, 2005
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
Opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of anyone that I work with, for, or associate with in any manner.
