What is special about Enceladus?
Cassini revealed the dramatic truth: Enceladus is an active moon that hides a global ocean of liquid salty water beneath its crust. What’s more, jets of icy particles from that ocean, laced with a brew of water and simple organic chemicals, gush out into space continuously from this fascinating ocean world.
How long is a year on Enceladus?
33 hoursEnceladus / Orbital period
How much gravity is on Enceladus?
0.113 m/s²Enceladus / Gravity
What could live on Enceladus?
Enceladus sprays a constant plume of material into space from fractures at its south pole. Now scientists have tested whether some of the microorganisms found in the Earth’s ocean vents, known as methanogens, could survive the conditions likely to be found on Enceladus. In theory at least, the scientists found they can …
Does Enceladus have oxygen?
Enceladus has carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen.
Does it rain on Enceladus?
While most of Enceladus’ rain is either lost in space, freezes on Saturn’s rings, or potentially even falls onto the planet’s other moons, what does reach the ringed planet is sufficient enough to explain the water in its upper atmosphere.
Does Enceladus get sunlight?
In fact, Enceladus is the most reflective body in the solar system. For decades, scientists didn’t know why. Because Enceladus reflects so much sunlight, the surface temperature is extremely cold, about minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 201 degrees Celsius). But it is not as cold and inactive a place as it appears.
Does Enceladus have sunlight?
How cold is Enceladus?
about minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit
Because Enceladus reflects so much sunlight, the surface temperature is extremely cold, about minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 201 degrees Celsius).
Can life survive on Enceladus?
Bottom line: A new study from Southwest Research Institute shows that the interior of Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus is more geochemically complex that previously thought, making the ocean quite habitable for possible life.
Can Enceladus hold life?
“Saturn moon, Enceladus, could support life in its subsurface ocean: Discovery provides more evidence that the.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 December 2020.
How long is a day on Enceladus?
8 hours, and 53 minutes
One day on Enceladus is equal to 1.37 Earth days, or one day, 8 hours, and 53 minutes. This is the same amount of time it takes to complete an orbit around Saturn.
What is Saturn’s moon Enceladus?
A 3D model of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, an icy moon with a hidden subsurface ocean. About as wide as Arizona, Enceladus orbits Saturn at a distance of 148,000 miles (238,000 kilometers) between the orbits of two other moons, Mimas and Tethys.
How thick is the ice on Saturn’s moon Enceladus?
The average global thickness of the ice is thought to be about 12 to 16 miles (20 to 25 kilometers). Since the ocean in Enceladus supplies the jets, and the jets produce Saturn’s E ring, to study material in the E ring is to study Enceladus’ ocean.
Why is Saturn’s moon Enceladus bright white?
Only a small fraction of the material ends up in the ring, however, with most of it falling like snow back to the moon’s surface, which helps keep Enceladus bright white. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010.
How fast does Saturn’s moon Enceladus move?
It completes one orbit every 32.9 hours within the densest part of Saturn’s E Ring. Also, like some other moons in the extensive systems of the giant planets, Enceladus is trapped in what’s called an orbital resonance, which is when two or more moons line up with their parent planet at regular intervals and interact gravitationally.