Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Europa is Cool but Enceladus is a Sexy Bitch Too

Maybe not a small number of you saw "Europa Report" which is a trip to the moon, Europa, where there is liquid water under the surface.  Enceladus has been my pick for exploration and for the same reason but, get this, NASA detected some warmth there.  (RT:  NASA's Cassini detects heat of ocean on Saturn moon (PHOTO))


Bluish "tiger stripe" fractures can be seen ripping across Enceladus' south polar region

© NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute


Data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft revealed evidence of heat close to the surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The latest discovery shows the moon as being warmer than expected with an ocean of water closer to the surface than previously believed.

The excessive heat is prominent in fractures in the moon’s south pole, known as “tiger stripes,” dormant venting fractures as seen in an image of the planet taken by Cassini. A study published in the journal Nature of microwave radiometry observations by Cassini of the stripes revealed a heating in temperature a few meters below the surface.

The results indicate an ocean of liquid water believed to be beneath Enceladus’ surface may be at a depth of a mere couple of miles, closer than previously believed. 

- RT

The idea of any kind of warmth on a moon of Saturn defies belief and yet that's what they find.  Something I need to verify is the probable depth of the water on Europa to see if perhaps that's why NASA selects that moon as a target.  Judging by the movie, the water is not that far down and they probably did try to make it jibe with fact as much as possible.  Nevertheless, I need better validation than that.


I'm not going to do it and I probably won't even see it but, dayum, it inspires me no end knowing we will and there's one miraculous thing which happens at that time.  The astronauts aren't from a country anymore but rather from a planet, a different one.

Maestro, roll the prettiest parts of the end of "2001, A Space Odyssey!"

Maestro:  I do not do film clips.  I make music!

You will be working an outpost on Enceladus if you don't get to it.  How does that sound to you, chum?


It will be a cool situation for fathers of the future since you won't have to send the kid to military school to shape him up.  Now you can ship the misbehaving little bastard to another planet.

Peace!

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