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Spacecraft Spots Water Geysers on Saturn Moon

Posted on: Sunday, 12 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Alicia Chang

The orbiting Cassini spacecraft has spotted what appear to be water geysers on one of Saturn's icy moons, raising the tantalizing possibility that the celestial object harbors life.

The surprising images from the moon Enceladus represent some of the most dramatic evidence yet that water in liquid form may be present beyond the Earth.

Excited by the discovery, some scientists said Enceladus should be added to the short list of places within the solar system most likely to have extraterrestrial life.

Scientists generally agree several ingredients are needed for life to emerge, including water in liquid form and a stable heat source. But so far, the evidence of any large amounts of water in liquid form on celestial objects beyond Earth is circumstantial and indirect, based on scientists' analysis of rocks and other data.

Cassini recently snapped high-resolution images showing geyser- like eruptions of ice particles and water vapor at Enceladus' south pole, scientists said. The pictures do not actually show any water in liquid form, but scientists believe the ice and vapor must be coming from underground reservoirs of water close to the surface.

"We have the smoking gun" that proves the existence of water, said Carolyn Porco, a Cassini imaging scientist from the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

Torrence Johnson, a Cassini scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, said this marks the first time that scientists have seen evidence of water in liquid form so close to the surface on another body beyond Earth.

If Enceladus does harbor life, it probably consists of microbes or other primitive organisms capable of living in extreme conditions, scientists say.

The findings were published in today's issue of the journal Science.

David Morrison, a senior scientist at NASA's Astrobiology Institute, cautioned against rushing to judgment about whether the tiny moon could support life. "It's certainly interesting, but I don't see how much more you can say beyond that," Morrison said.

Saturn is around 800 million miles from Earth. Enceladus measures 314 miles across and is the shiniest object in the solar system.

The Cassini mission is a joint NASA-European Space Agency project. The spacecraft was launched in 1997.

Source: Buffalo News

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