Alien Life on Enceladus
Enceladus, a lesser talked about moon of Saturn, has been picked out as a possible candidate for alien life. Astronomers have detected a liquid water sea about the size of lake Superior which could harbor alien life. One of the reasons Astronomers think Enceladus could be home to cosmic neighbors is it’s silicone core. The under service lake touches the silicone core which means it could have dissolved minerals that are necessary for life. While still lots of work needs to be done, Jonathan Lunine of Cornell University remains hopeful. “It makes, in fact, the interior of Enceladus a very attractive potential place to look for life.”
Who is studying Enceladus?
From a team of Italian and United States scientists who analyzed gravity data from the Cassini spacecraft, the announcement came. Cassini has been orbiting Saturn for about 10 years and has taken a multitude of amazing photographs of Saturn’s many moons.
Scientist have suspected the extraterrestrial sea of Enceladus but this study confirms it. This study has been the culmination of multiple flybys measuring the density of material in different parts of Enceladus. The measurements reveal there is something underneath Enceladus’ Ice in the south. Something that is denser than the ice. According to David Stevenson, a planetary scientist of the California Institute of Technology, Liquid water is the most likely explanation.
Eceladus is also known for having geysers on it’s south pole. Although these geysers might possibly be linked to the under surface sea, scientists studying Enceladus don’t currently have enough data to link the two phenomena.
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