In 2006, a NASA spacecraft flew by Saturn’s largest moon and found evidence of large bodies of liquid on the surface of the bizarre world. The shocking discovery meant that Titan’s landscape is eerily similar to that of Earth’s; the two worlds are the only ones known to have rivers, lakes, and seas on the surface.
Jostling on the fault lines of Enceladus’ frozen crust may be responsible for the plumes of icy material spewing from the moon’s watery underbelly, according to a team of researchers that recently modeled the motion.
The 46-year-old Voyager 1 spacecraft is on the fritz again, and this time it may be critical. As one engineer said, “this is, by far, the most serious since I’ve been project manager.” Here are our top science stories from this week.
An odd little moon that orbits closely to Saturn just revealed its biggest mystery: a hidden ocean that lies beneath its heavily cratered surface.
A previously unknown satellite may be shaping the rings of Chariklo, a petite body that orbits the Sun between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus, according to a team of astronomers that recently simulated the rings’ dynamics.
NASA, ESA, STScI, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC)
Yes, that’s Uranus. The giant icy orb looks more like an agatized dinosaur egg than a planet in this new image by the Webb Space Telescope.
Good news, everyone! Scientists discovered additional evidence suggesting the potential habitability of a peculiar icy moon orbiting Saturn, one of the planet’s 146 moons.
