The Saturn proved the existence of the warm ocean

Scientists have discovered the intense thermal radiation coming from the interior of Enceladus.

NASA astronomers analyzed images of Enceladus, and now sure that the ocean of the satellite is warmer than previously thought.

Warm ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus is hidden inside the celestial body under the surface. The ice crust over the ocean in polar regions is quite thin.

According to the astronomers analyzed images from Cassini spacecraft, the South polar region of the icy moon of Saturn Enceladus is warmer than expected. But the ice crust in the South can be five times thinner than in other places. The ice thickness there is only a few kilometers, much smaller than previously thought.

Scientists believe that the temperature change cannot be explained either by the accumulation of solar heat, no gravitation of Saturn. In other words, Enceladus must have its own source of heat. To determine the temperature of ice is possible thanks to the snapshot in the microwave range made by Cassini during another rendezvous with the satellite.

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The conclusion is consistent with the results of the study by an independent panel of planetary scientists that in 2016, the estimated thickness of the ice crust of Enceladus. Studies show the average depth of the ice shell from 18 to 22 kilometers, with a thickness of about five kilometers at the South pole of the satellite.

“Can life develop in the warm underground ocean? This question should be answered for future missions to this extraordinary world”, – said the representative of the project Cassini, Linda Spilker.

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