Tidal heating from Saturn and Titan's gravitational fields?
Quote from: Ben the Space Brit on 03/14/2017 02:23 pmTidal heating from Saturn and Titan's gravitational fields?Sounds more than likely. As these hot spots vary in position over geological time by the sound of it, does that indicate there are variations in the moons orbits over the longer term?
I wonder how the heating occurs on a pole instead of at the equator, where tidal effects are the greatest on earth?
On Thursday NASA will announce evidence that hydrothermal activity on the floor of an ice-covered ocean on Saturn's moon Enceladus is most likely creating methane from carbon dioxide. The process is indicative of possible habitable zones within the ocean of Enceladus.But before we go any further, "habitable" does not mean "inhabited".NASA bases this determination on the amount of hydrogen in plumes emanating from the moon's south pole. The large amount of hydrogen is strongly suggestive of a constant hydrothermal process wherein the ocean under the surface of Enceladus is interacting with rock and organic compounds. The amount of hydrogen present is in disequilibrium i.e. if there was not a process that was constantly generating hydrogen the observed hydrogen levels would likely be lower than what is seen. Something is pumping it out.
Quote from: jacqmans on 04/05/2017 06:51 amWhat a nicely done video, thanks! Especially worth praising is the re-entry sequence, with the thruster pods frantically firing to illustrate the attempt to keep comms lock on Earth, and the visuals of Saturn's skies from up close.