That can mean colored stripes on the potentially habitable moon of Saturn?
Source:the Surface of Enceladus on Board the probe “Cassini”
— Saturn's icy moon, which is of great interest to scientists because of its subsurface ocean with potential life. A new study led by a scientist Doug Carnegie from the University of California reveals the secret origin of unusual cracks through which ocean water is icy satellite of Saturn constantly erupts, making the South pole of Enceladus look striped and multicolored.
Why Enceladus striped?
As the portal , first seen cosmic mission “Cassini” unusual stripes of Enceladus, scientists made a lasting impression. Parallel and evenly spaced, “tiger” stripes do not resemble anything else found by astronomers . Unusual formations continuously erupt water ice in the particles of which it is possible the presence of at least simple life. Despite its magnitude (the length of some “bands” is more than 120 miles), they for some reason located strictly in the South pole ice .
Hoping to find the answer to the question about the appearance of mysterious formations, the researchers found that the satellite is constantly experiencing a strong attraction to his neighbor — of Saturn, which holds on an extremely eccentric orbit. Being exposed to the gravitational influence of the giant planet, the satellite is slightly deformed and are drawn toward a neighboring planet, while simultaneously heating the subsurface, enclosed under a huge layer of water. Planetary scientists believe that the presence of an eccentric orbit saves Enceladus from fully freezing.
Water plume of Enceladus stretches for many kilometers from the moon's surface.
The Key to cracking is the fact that the pole of the satellite experience the greatest effects of the gravitational stretching that much thin icy crust of Enceladus in the polar zones. During periods of gradual cooling and a maximum distance from the giant planet, some of the sub-surface oceans of the satellite completely freeze. Shumas from below the ice crust of the moon of Saturn is gradually increasing its internal pressure, ultimately rascalities and creating those “tiger stripes”, the mystery of which scientists have long puzzled.
However, planetary scientists believe that the crack, named after the Iraqi city of Baghdad was the first, which could be formed under conditions of constant gravitational stretching. The constant eruption of ocean water from the fracture led to the formation of three parallel faults that currently remain open, covering the surface of the satellite a lot of ice.
Researchers believe that the cracks discovered on the South pole could have formed in the Northern part of the satellite. Perhaps an unusual feature of the icy moon of Saturn is still not fully manifested, and scientists expect more new discoveries, connected with the geological structure of the satellite, but with the potential life that we have yet to find.
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