Hot spot caused Enceladus to roll over
Posted: Mon, Jun 5, 2006, 1:47 PM ET (1747 GMT)
A hot spot within Saturn's moon Enceladus may have caused the moon to "roll over" and put the hot spot at its south pole, scientists said last week. In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers said that the formation of a hot blob, or diapir, of lower-density material below the moon's icy surface may have caused the moon to realign its spin axis so that it passed through the diapir, in order to preserve its spin stability. Evidence for the diapir comes from Cassini observations of the Moon, which revealed anomalously warm temperatures at the south pole as well as evidence for water vapor plumes. The heat source creating the diapir is believed to be tidal heating caused by the moon's eccentric orbit around Saturn.
A hot spot within Saturn's moon Enceladus may have caused the moon to "roll over" and put the hot spot at its south pole, scientists said last week. In a paper published in the journal Nature, researchers said that the formation of a hot blob, or diapir, of lower-density material below the moon's icy surface may have caused the moon to realign its spin axis so that it passed through the diapir, in order to preserve its spin stability. Evidence for the diapir comes from Cassini observations of the Moon, which revealed anomalously warm temperatures at the south pole as well as evidence for water vapor plumes. The heat source creating the diapir is believed to be tidal heating caused by the moon's eccentric orbit around Saturn. | <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Vast signs contract with SpaceX for ISS private astronaut missions
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:59 AM ET (1659 GMT) Avio signs ESA contracts for Vega upgrades and Earth science satellite launch
Posted: Sat, Dec 21 11:57 AM ET (1657 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Friday, December 27
Space industrial base racing to meet growing demand for military satellites
Defensescoop — 7:42 am ET (1242 GMT) Satellite bailout leaves Britain nursing losses as shares plunge to record low
The Daily Telegraph — 7:41 am ET (1241 GMT) SpaceX will be a better $1 trln bet than Tesla
Reuters — 7:36 am ET (1236 GMT) From new commercial Moon landers to asteroid investigations, expect a slate of exciting space missions in 2025
The Conversation — 7:35 am ET (1235 GMT) A Silk Road in Space: China’s Space Plan for 2050
The Wire — 7:34 am ET (1234 GMT) |
