NASA scientists have confirmed that #Enceladus, the icy moon of #Saturn, has a #subsurfaceocean that spans the entire globe. - http://clapway.com/2015/09/21/subsurface-ocean-enceladus123/

NASA Scientists have confirmed that Enceladus, the icy moon of Saturn, has a subsurface ocean that spans the entire globe. The discovery is on the heels of finding evidence of hydrothermal vents on Enceladus back in March.

The Mystery of Enceladus

Scientists with NASA’s Cassini mission have been studying data imagery of the tiny moon Enceladus for the past seven years. Cassini is a spacecraft that first arrived at Saturn in 2004 and has been orbiting the planet ever since. Cassini first saw water vapor coming from the moon’s South Pole in 2005. In 2014, Scientists announced evidence of a regional sea on Enceladus. A few months ago, Cassini detected hydrothermal vents, indicating that the moon’s water is heated and has minerals, the basic foundation for spawning life.

The Discovery of Enceladus’ Subsurface Ocean

Further investigation mapped out the positions of features on Enceladus in order to measure changes in the moon’s rotation with extreme precision. Scientist found that the moon has a measurable wobble as it orbits Saturn. Because Enceladus is imperfectly shaped and speeds up and slows down at different portions during its orbit, Saturn subtly rocks its tiny moon back and forth during rotation.

To analyze the interior makeup of Enceladus, scientists input the measurement of the wobble into different models. “If the surface and core were rigidly connected, the core would provide so much dead weight the wobble would be far smaller than we observe it to be,” said Matthew Tiscareno, a Cassini participating scientist at SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, and a co-author of the paper. “This proves that there must be a global layer of liquid separating the surface from the core.”

Enceladus Has The Basic Ingredients for Extra-Terrestrial Life

“This is a major step beyond what we understood about this moon before, and demonstrates the kind of deep-dive discoveries we can make with long-lived orbiter missions to other planets, “ said co-author Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team lead at Space Science Institute, Boulder. “Cassini has been exemplary in this regard.”

The discovery of the subsurface ocean on Enceladus proves that more work is to be done here. Scientists are still investigating the circumstances that prevented the subsurface ocean from freezing. The presence of hydrothermal vents puts Enceladus as a frontrunner for the existence of extra-terrestrial life. Cassini is set to make a close flyby of the Enceladus on October 28.

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WILL OUR CURIOSITY ABOUT SPACE NEVER CEASE?

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Scientists Find Subsurface Ocean on Enceladus

NASA"s Cassini Makes Its Final Flyby Of Saturn"s Strange Moon - http://clapway.com/2015/06/01/nasas-cassini-flyby-of-saturn-moon123/

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft obtained one final look at Hyperion, Saturn’s moon, after making its last flyby this past Sunday on May 31^st. According to a report by NASA, the interstellar vehicle passed the moon at a distance of 21,000 miles at 9:36 a.m. EDT. Although this is not the closest it has traveled to the celestial body, it is still very near.

The moon, distinguished by its irregular shape, sponge-like appearance and chaotic rotation, was discovered in 1848. At its widest point, the moon spans 255 miles, and is believed to have once been part of a larger body. It is also the eighth largest moon in Saturn’s orbit, and possesses a very low density.

HISTORY OF NASA’S CASSINI SPACECRAFT

Back in 2005, Cassini flew extremely close to Hyperion, hovering only 310 miles away from the moon. This time around, however, researchers are hoping to retrieve some new information about Hyperion’s terrain, once images are sent back down to Earth either by today or tomorrow. Unfortunately, this task has not always been easy. Due to Hyperion’s chaotic rotation, it is very difficult for Cassini to focus on a particular region of the moon’s surface. Historically, most of the images obtained by Cassini have been of the same, familiar side of Hyperion.

Now Cassini will continue on its mission to examine several other moons before its operational life comes to an end. The next flyby will occur on June 16, when it will pass 321 miles above Dione – a small moon about 698 miles in diameter that orbits Saturn every 2.7 Earth days.

From there, Cassini will make two more flybys of Enceladus, Saturn’s 6^th largest moon, which NASA refers to as “one of the most scientifically compelling bodies in our solar system,” mainly due to its icy jets that gush water vapor and gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and either carbon monoxide or nitrogen gas. For this reason scientists believe that Enceladus might hold the key ingredients life. On Cassini’s flyby, it will come as close as 30 miles to the surface before it continues navigating between Saturn and its famous rings.

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NASA"s Cassini Makes Its Final Flyby Of Saturn"s Strange Moon

Cassini Prepares For Close Encounter With Saturn - http://clapway.com/2015/05/30/cassini-prepares-for-close-encounter-with-saturn345/

NASA‘s Cassini spacecraft is getting ready for a close encounter with Saturn tomorrow. The spacecraft will take pictures of Saturn’s moon, Hyperion. Hyperion is large and shaped irregularly, and has a disorderly orbit around Saturn.

Hyperion is only 168 miles in diameter and its chaotic orbit around Saturn makes it difficult to be studied by scientists. Therefore, data extracted from this close encounter with Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft will prove to be valuable for scientists.

Encounter with Saturn Will Gather Many New Details

The Cassini spacecraft is expected to encounter Hyperion at only 21,000 miles from its surface, at around 9:36 a.m. EDT on Sunday. The most notable encounter happened on September 26, 2005, when the spacecraft got to a mere 314 miles away from Hyperion.

Scientists hope to be able to see details of the moon’s terrain, and see if they differ from previous documented information. Images of Hyperion will be beamed to Earth by Cassini. We already know that Hyperion appears to have a strange, spongy appearance due to its having a very low density for such a large moon. This means that it likely has a very weak force of gravity and that if something impacts its surface, the object may push the surface in instead of making a dent or crater.

Cassini Is Part of the Cassini-Huygens Mission Venture

The Cassini spacecraft is part of the Cassini-Huygens mission,  a partnership between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

So far, it has made several notable accomplishments on this mission. For instance, in 2005, it discovered evidence that icy sprays were forming on Saturn’s sixth biggest moon, Enceladus. Research later confirmed that there was hydrothermal activity on this moon, and reported that the ice sprays could be curtains or sheets, instead of being jet-like.

Cassini Continues Saturn Exploration Mission

Cassini will continue routing for its close encounter with Saturn next month, when it is expected to fly within 321 miles of the moon Dione. In addition, it will fly by Enceladus in October and get within 30 miles of the moon to get more data on the icy spray mystery.

Once Cassini has finished its mission of collecting data and taking photos of Saturn and its moons, it is expected to start making dives into the rings of Saturn some time in 2016.

Cassini Prepares For Close Encounter With Saturn