Astronomers Discover Hints Of Liquid Water On Saturn Moon

By: Sara Smith
Staff Writer
Published: Nov 28, 2008

A team of astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab has detected hints of liquid water on one of Saturn's moons. The researchers used images from the space agency's Cassini probe that reveal the possibility of water on Enceladus.

A team of astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab has detected hints of water vapor and ice particles spewing from Enceladus. The ice particles are shooting at supersonic speeds that suggests they come from liquid water.

Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, has an icy terrain that contain gas and ice particles. The researchers used images from NASA's Cassini probe to conduct the research.

Astronomers used new calculations suggesting the gas and particles are shooting at speeds that make the case for liquid. The team calculated the plumes travel more than 1,360 mph.

The research offers new evidence that the moon may harbor an underground ocean of water, meaning conditions might exist that could support life, even if only microbial organisms.

"We think liquid water is necessary for life," Candice Hansen of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who led the study, said in a statement.

"This is more evidence that there is liquid water there. You also need energy, you need nutrients, you need organics. It looks like the pieces are there. Whether or not there's actually life, of course, we can't say," Hansen said.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft discovered the humongous geysers erupting from fissures in 2005. The area is near the south pole of Enceladus. The geysers continuously shoot plumes into space.