Does Enceladus, Saturn's Geyser-Spouting Moon, Have Liquid Oceans?

80beats
By Eliza Strickland
Jun 25, 2009 6:18 PMNov 5, 2019 8:58 PM
enceladus-geysers.jpg

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Saturn's moon Enceladus got humanity's attention in 2005 when surprised astronomers detected jets of ice and gas spraying out from the moon's icy surface, and since then researchers have eagerly investigated the possibility that the jets might emanate from liquid oceans beneath the frozen crust. A moon with liquid water would be of great interest, because it would be more likely to host extraterrestrial microbes. Now, two new studies with somewhat contradictory results have deepened the mystery of what lies beneath Enceladus's shell of ice.

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