[space-new's] Saturn's moons volcano?

[Hellfighter]

Reuters

02:39 PM Aug. 30, 2005 PT

LONDON -- There is a hot spot on one of Saturn's moons that should not be there and has yet to be explained, scientists said Tuesday.

It is located at the south pole of Enceladus, a moon with a diameter of just 310 miles that orbits Saturn at a distance of around 148,000 miles.

The hot spot is unusual because it occurs at the pole, scientists said. Usually, the hottest part of any planet or moon is around the equator, as is the case with Earth.

This suggests that the heat at Enceladus' southern pole is generated from within, said scientists from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons.

But they acknowledged they had no idea how.

"It shouldn't be that warm," said John Spencer, one of the scientists working on the project. "It's like flying past Antarctica and finding that it's warmer than the Earth's equatorial regions. It's that strange."

Spencer, of the Southwest Research Institute's Department of Space Studies in Boulder, Colorado, is one of a group of scientists examining data sent back to Earth from the Cassini spacecraft, which was launched in 1997 to examine Saturn.

The spacecraft has flown past Enceladus three times -- most recently July 14 when it passed within just 109 miles of the small, icy orb.

The scientists expected to find that the temperature was around 80 degrees Kelvin (minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit) at its hottest point, which they assumed would be near the equator.

Instead, they found that the heat was concentrated at the south pole, where the temperature hit 91 degrees Kelvin near a series of fissures, or "tiger stripes," on the moon's surface.

"It is an extremely conspicuous hot region," Spencer told a news conference. "Something is different about that area."

The scientists have come up with two theories to explain the hot spot. The first is that the heat comes from decaying radioactive material below the moon's surface and the second is that it is caused by gravitational tides.

But they say neither theory adequately explains the heat.

"We don't have anything we could call a complete hypothesis yet," said Torrence Johnson from NASA, which is working on the project alongside the European and Italian space agencies.

The team says the hot spot suggests there might be volcanoes and geysers on Enceladus.

If this is true, it would be one of only three "active" moons known to man. The others are Io, which orbits Jupiter, and Triton, which circles Neptune.

The Cassini spacecraft has been sending spectacular images back from Saturn, its rings and its moons since last year, when it reached the planet. It also launched a probe that landed on the surface of Titan, another of Saturn's 31 known moons.

read more link: http://www.wired.com/news/space/0,26...tml?tw=rss.TEK

man that is really something.

ps go there they have some cool images of this thing they are talking about

if you like that read this: "Click-here" orbited Saturn in the opposite direction.

[Trojan]

Very interesting Chief!

[Hellfighter]

did you go there read about the adapted moon rock? thats was weird

if you like that read this: "Click-here" orbited Saturn in the opposite direction.

[Trojan]

Thanks. I love this stuff. It's fascinating. Ever see Nova on PBS? Great show. Check it out. Go to: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

[Lakie]

Apparently what they are trying to explain is the equivalent as if he had major volcanic activity at the south pole...

[Jeff]

Very cool to read.

[Trojan]

Originally posted by BB/Mike*MFA*
Apparently what they are trying to explain is the equivalent as if he had major volcanic activity at the south pole...

I've had major volcanic activity at the south pole all day, grrrr. Where's the pepto? heh

[Mauser 98K]

Originally posted by Trojan
I've had major volcanic activity at the south pole all day, grrrr. Where's the pepto? heh

lol
it the etra trestrials, there just now waking up from their 1000000yr slumber and are going to take over the world

[Lakie]

Yep, its the ET's that are causing these hurricanes to wipe out the US, and once the US is gone, the rest of the earth....

[BADDOG]

Absolutely fascinating stuff Chief!!!!

Warm Regards