An ocean found beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon
- February 9, 2024
- 0
Beneath the heavily cratered and icy surface of Mimas, one of Saturn’s smallest moons, scientists have found a large ocean of liquid water. This was reported by Sciencedaily,
Beneath the heavily cratered and icy surface of Mimas, one of Saturn’s smallest moons, scientists have found a large ocean of liquid water.
This was reported by Sciencedaily, Ukrinform reported.
Dr. from the PSL Observatory in Paris. This discovery, led by Valerie Laney, makes Mimas a prime target for investigating the origins of life in the Solar System.
Co-author of the study, Dr. “Mimas is a small moon, only 400 kilometers across, and its heavily cratered surface gives no hint of a hidden ocean beneath,” said Nick Cooper.
The discovery adds Mimas to the club of moons with interior oceans that includes Enceladus and Europa, but with a unique twist: Its ocean is extremely young, estimated to be only 5 to 15 million years old, scientists said.
This is the young age determined by detailed analysis of Mimas’ tidal interactions with Saturn.
The discovery was made possible thanks to analysis of data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which has been carefully studying Saturn and its moons for more than a decade. By carefully examining changes in Mimas’ orbit, researchers were able to reveal the existence of a hidden ocean and estimate its size and depth.
Thus, Mimas opens a unique window into the early stages of ocean formation and the potential for life.
As reported by Ukrinform, an international group of scientists discovered phosphorus, a chemical element important for the origin of life, in grains of salt-rich ice released into space from Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
Source: Ukrinform
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