Scientists have been studying the moon, Enceladus, for a couple of months, so this is a newer subject. The topics I will be covering are Cassini, the icy crust, hydrothermal activity and depth, rotation of the moon, methane, and the moon’s atmosphere. There are also many scientific possibilities that lie in this moon, scientists believe that there is a possibility animals can live here. NASA is trying to create more space crafts to launch to other planets, to see if they are livable for creatures. Even though Cassini was the spacecraft that went to Saturn, it was a robotic spacecraft so, no humans or animals were used or inside. All we know right now is that Cassini provided clear evidence that Enceladus shows signs of hydrothermal activity
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If the moon were on Earth than it would fit in the whole state of Arizona, meaning that the amount of gravity currently on the moon isn’t enough to hold any kind of atmosphere for more than a couple of minutes. Thus a strong source must be there on the moon to “feed” the atmosphere on Enceladus. Enceladus rotates once every 1.37 days, it orbits Saturn in the same amount of time; this is not a coincidence. Many moons, including Earth’s, have interchangeable rotational and orbital periods, an event called “synchronous rotation.” If a moon is moderately close to its base planet, the gravity of the planet locks the periods of rotation and revolution together. Enceladus orbits Saturn at a relatively close distance of 238,040 kilometers (147,911 miles), which is actually within the farthest ring (called the "E ring"). Scientists believe that the ice particles that make up the ring come from Enceladus. NASA thinks that a lot of the ice deriving from the moon’s Southern Polar Regions escapes the moon’s gravity causing it to go into orbit around the planet, causing the planet to have its outermost ring. Furthermore, information from Cassini reveals that the Saturnian system is full of oxygen atoms. Scientists theorize that as the water (H20- hydrogen and oxygen) ice from the moon erodes in space, and develops the detected oxygen atoms along with hydrogen atoms. This …show more content…
The moon’s clathrate- forming development should be so adequate that the ocean is almost completely drained of methane. If this is the case, why is Cassini seeing plenty of methane in the plumes? There are two probabilities. One being that the clathrates in the ocean are being hauled to the surface by the bursting plumes, ventilating the methane as they go. The other is that the hydrothermal activity is making more methane than the clathrate- creation development can. Although both processes are most likely happening, the fact that another study has established rock minerals correlated with hydrothermal activity implying that there may also be a hydrothermal answer to a methane puzzle. On Earth, hydrothermal vents on ocean floors are hothouses of chemical reactions, sustaining a basic energy resource to marine life. Often, the lifeforms found at the base of oceans do not require sunlight to survive; they have derived next to these hydrothermal vents, developing in the dark with the energy the vents create.
Now, through new inquiry of Cassini data, scientists writing in the journal, Nature, have discovered microscopic grains of silica (the mineral quartz that is found on Earth) and related in laboratory experiments. This discovery implies that hot water, at a temperature of at least 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90 degrees Celsius),
If the moon were on Earth than it would fit in the whole state of Arizona, meaning that the amount of gravity currently on the moon isn’t enough to hold any kind of atmosphere for more than a couple of minutes. Thus a strong source must be there on the moon to “feed” the atmosphere on Enceladus. Enceladus rotates once every 1.37 days, it orbits Saturn in the same amount of time; this is not a coincidence. Many moons, including Earth’s, have interchangeable rotational and orbital periods, an event called “synchronous rotation.” If a moon is moderately close to its base planet, the gravity of the planet locks the periods of rotation and revolution together. Enceladus orbits Saturn at a relatively close distance of 238,040 kilometers (147,911 miles), which is actually within the farthest ring (called the "E ring"). Scientists believe that the ice particles that make up the ring come from Enceladus. NASA thinks that a lot of the ice deriving from the moon’s Southern Polar Regions escapes the moon’s gravity causing it to go into orbit around the planet, causing the planet to have its outermost ring. Furthermore, information from Cassini reveals that the Saturnian system is full of oxygen atoms. Scientists theorize that as the water (H20- hydrogen and oxygen) ice from the moon erodes in space, and develops the detected oxygen atoms along with hydrogen atoms. This …show more content…
The moon’s clathrate- forming development should be so adequate that the ocean is almost completely drained of methane. If this is the case, why is Cassini seeing plenty of methane in the plumes? There are two probabilities. One being that the clathrates in the ocean are being hauled to the surface by the bursting plumes, ventilating the methane as they go. The other is that the hydrothermal activity is making more methane than the clathrate- creation development can. Although both processes are most likely happening, the fact that another study has established rock minerals correlated with hydrothermal activity implying that there may also be a hydrothermal answer to a methane puzzle. On Earth, hydrothermal vents on ocean floors are hothouses of chemical reactions, sustaining a basic energy resource to marine life. Often, the lifeforms found at the base of oceans do not require sunlight to survive; they have derived next to these hydrothermal vents, developing in the dark with the energy the vents create.
Now, through new inquiry of Cassini data, scientists writing in the journal, Nature, have discovered microscopic grains of silica (the mineral quartz that is found on Earth) and related in laboratory experiments. This discovery implies that hot water, at a temperature of at least 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90 degrees Celsius),