The search for extraterrestrial life just got more interesting as a team of scientists including Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Christopher Glein has discovered new evidence for a key building block […]
Enceladus
Posted inEnceladus, Icy Worlds, Press Release
A Mushy Source For The Geysers Of Enceladus
Enceladus is a primary target for astrobiology due to the salty plume ejecta measured by the Cassini spacecraft and the inferred subsurface ocean sustained by tidal heating. Sourcing the plumes […]
Posted inEnceladus, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Science Objectives For A Mission Concept To Enceladus: The Astrobiology
The Cassini-Huygens mission provided unprecedented information regarding Enceladus’ surface and interior, including the discovery of a subsurface ocean and strong evidence for waterrock interactions, which could provide the physical and […]
Posted inEnceladus
Dynamics Of Geysers And Tracer Transport Over The South Pole Of Enceladus
Over the south pole of Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, geysers eject water into space in a striped pattern, making Enceladus one of the most attractive destinations in the […]
Posted inEnceladus, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Press Release, Titan
Particle Deposition On The Saturnian Satellites From Ephemeral Cryovolcanism On Enceladus
The geologically active south pole of Enceladus generates a plume of micron-sized particles, which likely form Saturn’s tenuous E-ring extending from the orbit of Mimas to Titan. Interactions between these […]
Posted inEnceladus
On Enceladus Expansion Cracks Lets An Inner Ocean Boil Out
In 2006, the Cassini spacecraft recorded geyser curtains shooting forth from “tiger stripe” fissures near the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus — sometimes as much as 200 kilograms of […]
Posted inEnceladus
The Role Of Ocean Circulation In Driving Hemispheric Symmetry Breaking Of The Ice Shell Of Enceladus
The ice shell of Enceladus exhibits strong asymmetry between its hemispheres, with all known geysers concentrated over the south pole, even though its orbital configuration is almost perfectly symmetric. By […]
Posted inEnceladus, Icy Worlds, Press Release
An Investigation of Libration Heating and the Thermal State of Enceladus's Ice Shell
Tidal dissipation is thought to be responsible for the observed high heat loss on Enceladus. Forced librations can enhance tidal dissipation in the ice shell, but how such librations affect […]
Posted inEnceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Pluto, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Self-preserving Ice Layers On CO2 Clathrate Particles: Implications For Enceladus, Pluto And Similar Ocean Worlds
Under both engineering and natural conditions on Earth and in the Universe, some gas hydrates are found to be stabilised outside their window of thermodynamic stability by the formation of […]
Posted inEnceladus
Icequakes Likely Rumble Along Geyser-spitting Fractures In Saturn's Icy Moon Enceladus
Tidal stresses may be causing constant icequakes on Saturn’s sixth largest moon Enceladus, a world of interest in the search for life beyond Earth, according to a new study. A […]