Enceladus is the sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn. Enceladus is one of only three outer Solar System bodies (along with Jupiter's moon Io and Neptune's moon Triton) where active eruptions have been observed. Analysis of the out gassing suggests that it originates from a body of sub-surface liquid water, which along with the unique chemistry found in the plume, has fueled speculations that Enceladus may be important in the study of astrobiology. Images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have, for the first time, enabled scientists to correlate the spraying of jets of water vapor from fissures on Saturn's moon Enceladus with the way Saturn's gravity stretches and stresses the fissures. "This new work gives scientists insight into the mechanics of these picturesque jets at Enceladus and shows that Saturn really stresses Enceladus," said Terry Hurford, a Cassini associate based at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Enceladus is the sixth-largest of the moons of Saturn. Enceladus is one of only three outer Solar System bodies (along with Jupiter's moon Io and Neptune's moon Triton) where active eruptions have been observed. Analysis of the out gassing suggests that it originates from a body of sub-surface liquid water, which along with the unique chemistry found in the plume, has fueled speculations that Enceladus may be important in the study of astrobiology. Images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have, for the first time, enabled scientists to correlate the spraying of jets of water vapor from fissures on Saturn's moon Enceladus with the way Saturn's gravity stretches and stresses the fissures. "This new work gives scientists insight into the mechanics of these picturesque jets at Enceladus and shows that Saturn really stresses Enceladus," said Terry Hurford, a Cassini associate based at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
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Enceladus is unique in the Saturn system in having jets of water vapor and organic particles spray from long fissures in its south polar region. The long fissures have been nicknamed the "tiger stripes."
The tiger stripes of Enceladus consist of four sub-parallel, linear depressions in the south polar region of the Saturnian moon. First observed on May 20, 2005 by the Cassini spacecraft's Imaging Science Sub-system (ISS) camera (though seen obliquely during an early flyby), the features are most notable in lower resolution images by their brightness contrast from the surrounding terrain. Higher resolution observations were obtained by Cassini's various instruments during a close flyby of Enceladus on July 14, 2005. These observations revealed the tiger stripes to be low ridges with a central fracture.
The combined analysis of imaging, mass spectrometry, and magnetospheric data suggests that the observed south polar plume emanates from pressurized sub-surface chambers, similar to geysers on Earth.
Hurford and colleagues suggested a few years ago that tidal pulls from Saturn's gravity could explain the existence of the jets, but they had not been able to correlate specific jets with calculated stresses until now. They studied the jets emerging from the warmest regions within the tiger stripes Baghdad Sulcus and Damascus Sulcus.
The scientists found that the greatest stresses pulling apart the tiger stripes, occurred right after Enceladus made its closest approach to Saturn in its orbit. The scientists found that Saturn's gravitational pull could also deform the fissure by making one side move relative to the other side. That kind of deformation seemed to occur quite often during Enceladus' orbit around the planet, even when Enceladus was very far away.
The finding suggests that a large reservoir of liquid water - a global or local ocean - would be necessary to allow Enceladus to flex enough to generate stresses great enough to deform the surface, Hurford said. That process would control the timing of the jet eruptions of water. The finding also suggests that Saturn's tides create an enormous amount of heat in the area. The heat would be what would drive the jets.
"Cassini's seven-plus years roaming the Saturn system have shown us how beautifully dynamic and unexpected the Saturn system is over time," Spilker, another author, said. "We're looking forward to new discoveries as the seasons turn."
For further information and photo: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-079&rn=news.xml&rst=3314
