Enceladus' water vapor plume.

نویسندگان

  • Candice J Hansen
  • L Esposito
  • A I F Stewart
  • J Colwell
  • A Hendrix
  • W Pryor
  • D Shemansky
  • R West
چکیده

The Cassini spacecraft flew close to Saturn's small moon Enceladus three times in 2005. Cassini's UltraViolet Imaging Spectrograph observed stellar occultations on two flybys and confirmed the existence, composition, and regionally confined nature of a water vapor plume in the south polar region of Enceladus. This plume provides an adequate amount of water to resupply losses from Saturn's E ring and to be the dominant source of the neutral OH and atomic oxygen that fill the Saturnian system.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Is Enceladus’ plume tidally controlled?

[1] Explanations for the plume of gas, water vapor and ice particles jetting from rifts in Enceladus’ south polar region include boiling of liquid water and dissociation of clathrate hydrates. In either case, production of the plume may be quasi-static or tidally controlled, with implications for the interior structure and composition of Enceladus. Previous quantification of the clathrate expla...

متن کامل

Enceladus: a Source of Nitrogen and an Explanation for the Water Vapor Plume Observed by Cassini

Recently, the Cassini spacecraft observed an unexpected emission of plumes of water vapor, nitrogen, and icy particles from the southern polar region of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. While these findings support previous ideas of geological activity in this icy moon, there is no experimental evidence explaining how these plumes could be produced at the low (∼130–160 K) surface temperatures. Here...

متن کامل

Enceladus: Cassini observations and implications for the search for life (Research Note)

Aims. The recent Cassini discovery of water vapor plumes ejected from the south pole of the Saturnian satellite, Enceladus, presents a unique window of opportunity for the detection of extant life in our solar system. Methods. With its significant geothermal energy source propelling these plumes >80 km from the surface of the moon and the ensuing large temperature gradient with the surrounding ...

متن کامل

The possible origin and persistence of life on Enceladus and detection of biomarkers in the plume.

The jets of icy particles and water vapor issuing from the south pole of Enceladus are evidence for activity driven by some geophysical energy source. The vapor has also been shown to contain simple organic compounds, and the south polar terrain is bathed in excess heat coming from below. The source of the ice and vapor, and the mechanisms that accelerate the material into space, remain obscure...

متن کامل

Controlled boiling on Enceladus. 2. Model of the liquid-filled cracks

Controlled boiling will occur on Enceladus whenever a long, narrow conduit connects liquid water to the vacuum of space. In a companion paper we focus on the upward flow of the vapor and show how it controls the evaporation rate through backpressure, which arises from friction on the walls. In this paper we focus on the liquid and show how it flows through the conduit up to its level of neutral...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Science

دوره 311 5766  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2006