Kentucky Space

Plume diving on Enceladus

A spectacular raw image from the November 21 Cassini flyby of Enceladus clearly shows the venting happening from the Saturn moon.

Wayne

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Titan-like life: Would we know it if we saw it?

Sure, water ice and liquid water may have been confirmed on the surface of Mars. And microbial life has been resurrected from a million year old dirt nap on Earth. But given the distance from its parent star and the presence of an active hydrology of liquid methane and ethane, Titan might be the best place to find brand new kinds of life. Key question: Given our complete lack of understanding of such life, would we know it if we encountered it?

Wayne

Kentucky Space, Saturn, Titan

"Briny Breath of Enceladus"

Salt in Saturn's E ring and evidence in the form of spectacular geysers on the moon itself suggests that Enceladus could have an underground ocean. The video below also contains some of the best photographic stills of the moon from Cassini's imaging team, CICLOPS. Have a look.

Wayne

TED Video: Could Enceladus harbor life?

In a very brief return engagement, planetary scientist Carolyn Porco tells the audience at this year's TED that the particular heated chemistry of the Saturn moon Enceladus could be an indication that the the small moon with the big geology could harbor life.

Wayne

Undersea world for Enceladus?

New research suggests that the ice volcanoes on Enceladus may "be rooted in an underground sea, a finding that raises the prospect for microbial life," according to MSNBC.   

Wayne

Enceladus image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Celebrating Galileo: Most beautiful pics of Saturn ever

The imaging team for the Cassini mission, CIClOPS, has unpacked some of the best images ever taken of Saturn and its moons in celebration of The International Year of Astronomy. Simply beautiful.

Wayne

Hydrocarbon lakes confirmed on Titan

NASA: By measuring their rise and fall, Cassini has confirmed the presence of hydrocarbon lakes on Titan.

For several years, Cassini scientists have suspected that dark areas near the north and south poles of Saturn’s largest satellite might be liquid-filled lakes. An analysis published today in the journal Geophysical Research Letters of recent pictures of Titan's south polar region reveals new lake features not seen in images of the same region taken a year earlier. The presence of extensive cloud systems covering the area in the intervening year suggests that the new lakes could be the result of a large rainstorm and that some lakes may thus owe their presence, size and distribution across Titan’s surface to the moon’s weather and changing seasons.

Titan haze

This image of Titan's clearly visible haze layer has just been published by the photojournal at NASA.

Wayne

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Cassini Pic: Enceladus canyon

Yet another close-in view of Enceladus from Cassini's recent flyby. The moon continues to be a source of interest to scientists because of its geologic activity and, possibly, wet interior.

Wayne

Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Cassini dives deep into Enceladus' vented plumes

An extreme closeup of Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, taken by Cassini on October 9.

Like Jupiter's volcanic Io and Neptune's Triton, Enceladus is notable for its geological activity and the organic compounds spewing from vents at its southern pole, which in some pictures give the moon the appearance of a comet. On Oct. 9, Cassini flew into the vented plume to directly sample its composition.

A narrated video tour of the moon is here.

Wayne