PSW 2299 Enceladus - Saturn's Remarkable, Watery Moon | John Spencer

Friday, March 30, 2012
Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn just 300 miles in diameter, is one of the most remarkable worlds in the solar system. Close-up observations by the Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft in 2005 demonstrated that Enceladus is spraying plumes of ice and water vapor thousands of miles into space from four warm trenches near its south pole. This discovery makes Enceladus the only known geologically active ice world. Cassini has continued to explore Enceladus since 2005 with a daring series of close flybys, flying deep into the plume, returning incredibly detailed images of the plumes and the rugged surface of Enceladus, and mapping the heat escaping from its active fractures.

The active plumes not only make Enceladus exceptionally interesting, but they conveniently deliver fresh samples from its interior directly into Cassini's instruments. Onboard analysis of these samples strongly suggests that the plumes erupt from reservoirs of liquid water somewhere beneath the south pole of Enceladus, and that the water might be connected to an underground ocean. This warm, wet, interior, which is rich in complex carbon-based molecules, makes Enceladus one of the most promising known environments for extraterrestrial life. This richly illustrated talk will describe Enceladus' place in the Saturn system, the discovery of activity, what we have learned from Cassini's continued exploration of Enceladus, and the prospects for future missions to this fascinating world.

Видео PSW 2299 Enceladus - Saturn's Remarkable, Watery Moon | John Spencer канала PSW Science