Plumes d'Encelades propices a la Vie
Does Enceladus have underground oceans that could support life?
The discovery of jets spewing water vapor and ice was
detected by the Saturn-orbiting
Cassini spacecraft in 2005.
The origin of the water feeding the jets, however, was originally unknown.
Since discovery, evidence has been accumulating that
Enceladus has a deep underground sea,
warmed by tidal flexing.
Pictured here,
the textured surface of
Enceladus
is visible in the foreground,
while rows of plumes rise from ice fractures in the distance.
These jets are made more visible by the
Sun angle and the encroaching shadow of night.
A recent fly-through has found
evidence that a plume -- and so surely the
underlying sea -- is rich in molecular
hydrogen, a
viable food source for
microbes that could potentially be
living there.