What leads to the geysers on the Saturn’s moon Enceladus? It might have been the forces set into motion billions of years ago that powers these geysers on the planet’s moon. Dr. Dennis Matson, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California said,
Deep inside Enceladus, our model indicates we’ve got an organic brew, a heat source and liquid water, all key ingredients for life. And while no one is claiming that we have found life by any means, we probably have evidence for a place that might be hospitable to life.
It was in 2005, the spotted geysers on Enceladus ejecting water vapor and ice crystals from its south polar region has been confirmed. But, what puzzled scientists, is -
How do these small ice balls produce the levels of heat needed to fuel such eruptions?
This impertinence among the researchers lead to the birth of a new model that suggests the rapid decay of radioactive elements within Enceladus shortly after it formation may have led to long-term heating of the moon’s interior that is even continuing today.
This model also supports another recent, related finding. It indicates that the icy plumes of Enceladus contain molecules that require elevated temperatures for their formation.
Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
