How Enceladus Got Its Stripes

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 10:07 in Astronomy & Space

A new study says both the tiger stripes and a subsurface ocean on Saturn's moon Enceladus are the result of the moon's unusual chemical composition and not a hot core, as previously believed. shedding light on the evolution of planets and guiding future space exploration. Dr Dave Stegman, a Centenary Research Fellow in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, led the study and says that part of the intrigue with Enceladus is that it was once presumed to be a lifeless, frozen ice ball until a water vapour plume was seen erupting from its surface in 2006.  read more

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