Revealing the Mysteries of Saturn Moon Geysers

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has identified 101 geysers of water vapor and ice particles dotting the surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn's many moons.

According to NASA, analysis of the geysers suggest that it is possible that liquid water from the moon's underground sea could pool on the surface, an exciting possibility for experts trying to understand sources of extra-terrestrial water in our galaxy.

Geysers were first spotted on Enceladus in 2005, and scientists quickly came up with a theory that the geysers could be a result of flexing on the moon's surface - a product of Saturn's tidal effects. Some even thought that the friction of various rubbing ice-plates across Enceladus was creating the geysers.

However, new Cassini data coupled with high-resolution data collected by Cassini's heat sensors in 2010 revealed that these geyser's had specific locations on the moon and were not resulting from heat generation on the surface of the planet. This effectively disproved the friction theory.

"Once we had these results in hand we knew right away heat was not causing the geysers, but vice versa," Carolyn Porco, leader of the Cassini imaging team, explained in a recent statement. "It also told us the geysers are not a near-surface phenomenon, but have much deeper roots."

According to a study recently published in the Astrophysical Journal, Porco and her team of investigators found that narrow pathways through the ice shell of Enceladus can remain open for extended periods of time, offering a pathway for water under pressure to shoot to the surface - almost like in a venting process.

Models of tidal flexing also showed that it affects the height of and brightness of resulting geyser plumes, further supporting the theory that Saturn's tidal influences cause the geysers in some mysterious way.

The authors of the study admit they are still a very long way away from fully understanding the mechanisms of Enceladus' geysers. However, they will have another opportunity to observe this phenomenon when Cassini begins its Grand Finale in late 2016, when the craft it is scheduled to swing by the moon once last time before plummeting towards Saturn in a fiery end.