Geysers reveal likely ocean on Saturn moon Saturn's strange ice
ball moon Enceladus may have a salty ocean lurking beneath its
frozen surface. The new study, reported in the journal Nature,
helps explain the origin of the icy liquid plumes of water
spewing out of the tiny moon and possibly forming one of
Saturn's majestic rings. The discovery comes from data gathered
by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which has been studying the
Saturnian system since 2004. Enceladus is a tiny world just 504
kilometres wide. It's encased in a dazzling white shell of ice
that's pristine except for deep ridges near its south pole which
look like tiger stripes. These 'tiger stripe' fractures emit
geyser-like sprays of water vapour and icy grains, raising
questions about their cause. The new study examined Cassini data
recorded during three passes through the plumes including one
just 21 kilometres above the ice moon's surface. A team of
scientists, including Dr Frank Postberg from the Germany's Max
Planck Institute, found grains fart