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Cassini 'Tastes' Organic Material at Enceladus
Posted by
Zonk
on Thursday March 27, @07:31PM
from the why-does-saturn's-icy-moon-taste-like-ecto-cooler-hi-c dept.
from the why-does-saturn's-icy-moon-taste-like-ecto-cooler-hi-c dept.
Riding with Robots writes "As previously reported, the robotic spacecraft Cassini recently flew through the mysterious geyser plumes at Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. Today, NASA released the preliminary results of the flyby, including some intriguing findings, such as organic materials 20 times denser than expected and relatively high temperatures along the fissures where the geysers emanate. 'These spectacular new data will really help us understand what powers the geysers. The surprisingly high temperatures make it more likely that there's liquid water not far below the surface,' said one mission scientist."
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Organic? (Score:2)
Re:Organic? (Score:5, Informative)
"Compounds containing carbon".
That's all it means, really. Methane is a common one.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Organic chemistry is a specific discipline within chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation (by synthesis or by other means) of chemical com
Re:Organic? (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Organic? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
aliens!
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Organic? (Score:4, Funny)
suspicions confirmed (Score:5, Funny)
Gawd, i knew it. The primordial hell-brew of the universe is Mountain Dew.
Re: (Score:2)
I am with Jack Handy... (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
nasa should wisen up (Score:3, Funny)
Re:nasa should wisen up (Score:4, Funny)
Oli G. Archy, head of Chevron says "We believe a giant straw-like tube would significantly advance our knowledge of the known universe and help our neighbours in the solar system acheive democracy."
What interests me... (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm wondering if that, in fact, happened - that there was one almighty pulverization and the modern Enceladus is the result of the lighter material condensing around a surviving fragment of sufficient size to act as a nucleus. In that case, though, there should be another moon formed from the heavier material condensing around another fragment, showing an abnormally high density, in much the same way that the Earth and its moon unevenly divide the material of the original planet.
So far, I've not seen anything that suggests that is the case, but since so little is actually known, I guess it's well within the realms of possible at this point.
Re:What interests me... (Score:4, Informative)
It is too close to Saturn and in too stable an orbit.
Uhh, organic? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
No, no, no... (Score:3, Funny)
Proposition (Score:2)
Lets play god (Score:4, Interesting)
User Friendly knows what they found.... (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Only one instrument had problems. The others worked.