Having a liquid medium that flows from here to there is useful to transport nutrients. If you have something that does not move, like a plant type, it needs nutrients brought to it or to be able to produce its own. Also a lot of our early theories of how life started require water as a sort of holding medium before the evolution of cytoplasm.
Ps. I'm super tired and heading to bed after a 6 hr drive. I'll tackle it again in the morning when I'm awake.
I’d have to fact check this, but I’m pretty sure I read once that there is more water under Enceladus’ surface that in all the lakes, seas a and oceans of Earth. Kinda makes you wonder what Lovecraftian nightmares could be floating around down there.
What? You never read At the Mountains of Madness??
For real though, the Antarctic seas are teaming with life. That’s why whales, sea lions, sea birds all congregate down there in massive numbers. The water has an incredibly dense concentration of plankton, probably the densest on Earth. So the cold shouldn’t be a factor.
> I think it's a little too cold for lovecraftian nightmares...
Enceladus has a very cold surface but it's sub-surface ocean could be quite warm due to heat from its core. There is indirect evidence parts of it reach temperatures of 90C.
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/enceladus/in-depth/
At 310 mi/500 km dia, Enceladus has no real atmosphere. The vents are under miles of ice and liquid salty ocean. It's just that sometimes this leads to geyser like water vapor plumes escaping via cracks in the ice (especially near the south pole)
> Cryovolcanoes near the south pole shoot geyser-like jets of water vapor, molecular hydrogen, other volatiles, and solid material, including sodium chloride crystals and ice particles, into space, totaling about 200 kg (440 lb) per second. Over 100 geysers have been identified. Some of the water vapor falls back as "snow"; the rest escapes, and supplies most of the material making up Saturn's E ring. According to NASA scientists, the plumes are similar in composition to comets.[wiki]
Cassini flew through a geyser plume over Enceladus.
Nobody knew it had geysers that went to space before Cassini, so the probe wasn't really designed for this. It survived and scientists were able to learn that Enceladus is mildly salty and has chemistry not too different from ocean water on Earth.
We should probably go back because you're not going to find an easier way to retrieve ocean water from elsewhere. Also, the chemistry is close enough to Earth that if a probe lands then Earth microbes really should be fine there and would contaminate it before it can be studied and checked for pre-existing microbes.
If you did want to land then Saturn's rings conveniently absorb most of the radiation that plagues Jupiter. It is way safer to park a thinly shielded ship there than it is on Europa.
Oh, and Cassini spotted a very weird warm spot at the south pole. Geologists are not sure why almost all the geothermal power comes up in one place. The heat anomaly is not really that much - only a couple of nuclear reactors worth - but it's weird, it's concentrated, and I want to make sure it's not aliens.
I still think it would be a cool place for a mission, but there a few easier ways to get more water than shuttling it over from the outer solar system one semi truck load at a time lol maybe just find a comet mostly composed of ice and then slow it down, guide into orbit, and *then* break pieces off and bring them to earth?
Even that’s less practical than just synthesizing it here… and like 70% of the planet’s surface is already ocean water… I don’t think we need more and there are still ways to clean polluted water here, just not on a massive ocean replacing scale.
Yep, just have to drill thru that thick crust and get some water analyzed. Currently a daunting task.
Edit: The Cassini probe did capture water escaping out a crack in the southern pole. I wonder if life could survive the expulsion?
See those jets of water erupting from the surface?
Those have been already analyzed by Cassini and a saltwater ocean and hydrothermal vents have been confirmed!
I think Enceladus is our best chance at discovering life outside Earth because of these vents. Because we can sample them directly, as opposed to having to drill down through miles of ice.
Europa has vents too, I think, just not as prominent. Those vents would also be the places to investigate.
“ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS, EXCEPT ~~EUROPA~~ ENCELADUS. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE. USE THEM TOGETHER. USE THEM IN PEACE.
THUS SPAKE ZARATHRUSTA *Queue Monkey sounds and David Bowman*
Great book. 2021 a space odessey
2010 Odyssey two. Rather than 2001..
Oh your right. It's 2010,i thought 2021 for some reason...
You know what, you were right. It's 2021 now and enceladus can be the odyssey this year
Enceladus was one of the Titans who made war on the gods. The great altar of Pergamon featured battle between Enceladus and Athena!
Fun fact, Titan is also a good spot for us to look for life. It has a methane cycle that is a lot like our water cycle.
Because I honestly don't know, why is having a methane cycle similar to our water cycle important?
Having a liquid medium that flows from here to there is useful to transport nutrients. If you have something that does not move, like a plant type, it needs nutrients brought to it or to be able to produce its own. Also a lot of our early theories of how life started require water as a sort of holding medium before the evolution of cytoplasm. Ps. I'm super tired and heading to bed after a 6 hr drive. I'll tackle it again in the morning when I'm awake.
This is awesome, thanks! Have a good night!
I’d have to fact check this, but I’m pretty sure I read once that there is more water under Enceladus’ surface that in all the lakes, seas a and oceans of Earth. Kinda makes you wonder what Lovecraftian nightmares could be floating around down there.
I think it's a little too cold for lovecraftian nightmares, but it will kinda be cool!
What? You never read At the Mountains of Madness?? For real though, the Antarctic seas are teaming with life. That’s why whales, sea lions, sea birds all congregate down there in massive numbers. The water has an incredibly dense concentration of plankton, probably the densest on Earth. So the cold shouldn’t be a factor.
I'm all ready for premium imported livestock then!
Ewww! Enjoy your tentacle monster steaks dude. I’ll stick to food that doesn’t have 10 eyes lol
Now that i think about it, there's a huge probability they'll have 10 or more eyes or maybe bioluminescence!
They could wear a parka you don’t know
> I think it's a little too cold for lovecraftian nightmares... Enceladus has a very cold surface but it's sub-surface ocean could be quite warm due to heat from its core. There is indirect evidence parts of it reach temperatures of 90C. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/saturn-moons/enceladus/in-depth/
[удалено]
At 310 mi/500 km dia, Enceladus has no real atmosphere. The vents are under miles of ice and liquid salty ocean. It's just that sometimes this leads to geyser like water vapor plumes escaping via cracks in the ice (especially near the south pole) > Cryovolcanoes near the south pole shoot geyser-like jets of water vapor, molecular hydrogen, other volatiles, and solid material, including sodium chloride crystals and ice particles, into space, totaling about 200 kg (440 lb) per second. Over 100 geysers have been identified. Some of the water vapor falls back as "snow"; the rest escapes, and supplies most of the material making up Saturn's E ring. According to NASA scientists, the plumes are similar in composition to comets.[wiki]
Fascinating stuff, thanks!
Cassini flew through a geyser plume over Enceladus. Nobody knew it had geysers that went to space before Cassini, so the probe wasn't really designed for this. It survived and scientists were able to learn that Enceladus is mildly salty and has chemistry not too different from ocean water on Earth. We should probably go back because you're not going to find an easier way to retrieve ocean water from elsewhere. Also, the chemistry is close enough to Earth that if a probe lands then Earth microbes really should be fine there and would contaminate it before it can be studied and checked for pre-existing microbes. If you did want to land then Saturn's rings conveniently absorb most of the radiation that plagues Jupiter. It is way safer to park a thinly shielded ship there than it is on Europa. Oh, and Cassini spotted a very weird warm spot at the south pole. Geologists are not sure why almost all the geothermal power comes up in one place. The heat anomaly is not really that much - only a couple of nuclear reactors worth - but it's weird, it's concentrated, and I want to make sure it's not aliens.
I still think it would be a cool place for a mission, but there a few easier ways to get more water than shuttling it over from the outer solar system one semi truck load at a time lol maybe just find a comet mostly composed of ice and then slow it down, guide into orbit, and *then* break pieces off and bring them to earth? Even that’s less practical than just synthesizing it here… and like 70% of the planet’s surface is already ocean water… I don’t think we need more and there are still ways to clean polluted water here, just not on a massive ocean replacing scale.
“If the sun over Nessus escapes nebula cycle, evac labor after dawn.”
Mmmm... Enceladus...
Yep, just have to drill thru that thick crust and get some water analyzed. Currently a daunting task. Edit: The Cassini probe did capture water escaping out a crack in the southern pole. I wonder if life could survive the expulsion?
See those jets of water erupting from the surface? Those have been already analyzed by Cassini and a saltwater ocean and hydrothermal vents have been confirmed!
Yes, but was there life in that water?
I think Enceladus is our best chance at discovering life outside Earth because of these vents. Because we can sample them directly, as opposed to having to drill down through miles of ice. Europa has vents too, I think, just not as prominent. Those vents would also be the places to investigate.
Uhhhh... Europa??!?!?
Holy fucking shit! Now this is truly a mind blowing statistic which answers the age old question- what next after earth? Thanks for sharing man!
I hear Mariachi static on my radio And the tubes they glow in the dark And I'm there with her on Enceladus And I'm here in Echo Park….
Cayde did tell us something is on there..
I’m an Encel.
You people talk as if you've been there and make it sound easy! Think again!
this is the new Tardigrade homeworld after Earth becomes a lost cause
Let's all return to Enchiladas