Enceladus may have ocean with the right ingredients for life, scientists say
Scientists say theyve discovered evidence of a watery ocean with warm spots hiding beneath the surface of Saturns icy moon Enceladus. The findings, described in the journal Nature, are the first signs of hydrothermal activity on another world outside of Earth and raise the chances that Enceladus has the potential to host microbial life.
Scientists have wondered about what lies within Enceladus at least since NASAs Cassini spacecraft caught the moon spewing salty water vapor out from cracks in its frozen surface. Last year, a study of its gravitational field hinted at a 10-kilometer-thick regional ocean around the south pole lying under an ice crust some 30 to 40 kilometers deep.
Another hint also emerged about a decade ago, when Cassini discovered tiny dust particles escaping Saturns system that were nanometer-sized and rich in silicon.
Its a peculiar thing to find particles enriched with silicon, said lead author Hsiang-Wen Hsu, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In Saturns moons and among its rings, water ice dominates, so these odd particles clearly stood out.
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http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-enceladus-water-ocean-hydrothermal-activity-silica-20150311-story.html