Saturn’s icy moon is even more active than we thought

[Mike Wehner]

• A study of Enceladus images from the Cassini orbiter has revealed new clues as to the age of the ice on different parts of the moon.
• The moon's south pole is covered in new ice, which is expected, but its northern hemisphere also has young ice, which was a surprise.
• Enceladus is one of the few places in our solar system where extraterrestrial life may exist in some form.

Of all the planets and moons in our solar system, Saturn's icy moon Enceladus appears to be one of the few that may support life in some form. It has a solid shell of ice, but deep beneath the ice, there's liquid water. We know this because we've seen it spewing out of massive fissures in the ice.

Now, researchers using data from the NASA Cassini space probe have detected what they believe is the signature of fresh ice not just at the active south pole of the moon, but also in the northern hemisphere, which is a new finding.

Continue reading...

Today's Top Deals

1. Today’s best deals: 23¢ face masks, stunning 75″ Samsung 4K TV, $7 Kasa smart plugs, Gillette deals, big Purell sale, more
2. You won’t believe how good these treadmills and exercise bikes are for less than $250
3. 3M N95 masks are about to sell out at Amazon

Trending Right Now:

1. CDC pulls its bombshell COVID-19 guidance from the web
2. Here’s how the MCU could give a fitting send-off to Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther
3. NASA’s asteroid probe just found something unexpected

Saturn’s icy moon is even more active than we thought originally appeared on BGR.com on Mon, 21 Sep 2020 at 22:08:22 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Via BRG - Boy Genius Report