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PHOTOS: Saturn Moon "Mother Lode": Icy Jets Located
National Geographic News ^
| Friday, August 15, 2008
Posted on 08/17/2008 7:36:09 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
The exact location of jets on Saturn's geologically active moon Enceladus have been found -- a discovery scientists are calling a "mother lode."
NASA's Cassini flyby mission released new photos this week of icy jets erupting from the surface.
The green areas... are believed to represent deposits of coarser-grained ice and solid boulders. Some of the material is concentrated along valley floors and walls, as well as along the upraised flanks of the "tiger stripe" fractures.
The photo also reveals a sinuous boundary of scarps and ridges that encircles the south polar terrain. Here, the ice may be blocky rubble that has crumbled off of cliff faces because of ongoing seismic activity...
The finding "may ultimately reveal just exactly what kind of environment -- habitable or not -- we have within this tortured little moon," said imaging team leader Carolyn Porco at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Astronomy; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: astronomy; enceladus; saturn
Enceladus site:freerepublic.com
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Enceladus site:freerepublic.com
Google
1
posted on
08/17/2008 7:36:10 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
Saturn site:freerepublic.com
Google
2
posted on
08/17/2008 7:36:54 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile hasn't been updated since Friday, May 30, 2008)
To: SunkenCiv
To: SunkenCiv
Try this.
August 15, 2008—The exact location of jets on Saturn's geologically active moon Enceladus have been found—a discovery scientists are calling a "mother lode."
NASA's Cassini flyby mission released new photos this week of icy jets erupting from the surface.
The green areas (above) are believed to represent deposits of coarser-grained ice and solid boulders. Some of the material is concentrated along valley floors and walls, as well as along the upraised flanks of the "tiger stripe" fractures.
The photo also reveals a sinuous boundary of scarps and ridges that encircles the south polar terrain. Here, the ice may be blocky rubble that has crumbled off of cliff faces because of ongoing seismic activity.
The finding "may ultimately reveal just exactly what kind of environment—habitable or not—we have within this tortured little moon," said imaging team leader Carolyn Porco at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
4
posted on
08/17/2008 7:40:01 PM PDT
by
Pistolshot
(Leadership without experience is dangerous. - Lindsey Graham NO B.O.)
To: Pistolshot
Just................way too cool. Bump.
To: KevinDavis; Swordmaker
The pics are nice, only three of them though --
1,
2, and
3.
6
posted on
08/17/2008 7:47:00 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile hasn't been updated since Friday, May 30, 2008)
To: SunkenCiv
7
posted on
08/17/2008 8:09:01 PM PDT
by
Chode
(American Hedonist - CTHULHU/NYARLATHOTEP'08 = Nothing LESS!!!)
To: Chode
To: SunkenCiv
My expectations are set a little higher. To me the “Mother Lode” would be Moon Maidens and lots of em.
9
posted on
08/17/2008 8:53:27 PM PDT
by
NavyCanDo
To: The_Media_never_lie; Chode
To: NavyCanDo
To: NavyCanDo
You like those ice queens, eh? ;’)
12
posted on
08/17/2008 9:15:52 PM PDT
by
SunkenCiv
(https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile hasn't been updated since Friday, May 30, 2008)
To: BenLurkin
OMG!! I love it! I have that goofy movie here somewhere... complete with space herpes...
13
posted on
08/17/2008 9:44:41 PM PDT
by
redhead
(B-I-NGO...B-I-NGO...)
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