NASA discovers geysers of water on moon of Saturn

By Dustin M Braden - 29 Jul '14 08:14AM

In an enormous and important discovery, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has discovered liquid geysers that expel water on one of Saturn's moons, Encedalus.

NASA says that for nearly the last seven years, Cassini has been focusing cameras and other instruments on the south pole of Encedalus. Cassini was focused on this region because of its unique geological features NASA refers to as "tiger stripes." Cassini's focus was also motivated by the discovery of water vapor in the region 10 years ago.

The discovery of the water vapor led to further research which determined that underneath the icy surface of Encedalus lied a vast ocean, which would periodically erupt to the surface.

NASA says that Cassini's most recent observations resulted in the discovery of 101 liquid geysers erupting from the "tiger stripes." These observations were then used to try and determine what makes the geysers possible.

When the geysers were first discovered, scientists proposed a number of theories for their origin. One was that portions of Encedalus' geology were rubbing against each other. This friction would generate heat that melted the planet's ice, creating liquid which would then seek a release on the surface, and explain the geysers and vapor. The presence of heat readings near the sites of geysers reinforced this view

Another theory suggested that the cause of the geysers was the effect of Saturn's gravity on Encedalus as they orbited each other.

Further evaluation showed that both seem to play a role.

It turned out the geysers were not caused by geological friction, because the area of the heat release was too small for geology to be the cause. In actuality, the geysers themselves were the source of the heat readings.

At the same time, the brightness of the geysers would coincide with certain points in Encedalus' orbit around Saturn. The orbit however, could not be used to predict when the brightness would change, suggesting there is one more factor for which researchers have yet to account.