Produced by: Manoj Kumar
New research suggests Enceladus’ famous geysers may not be shooting straight from its hidden ocean—but from mushy ice pockets instead.
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Scientists now think Enceladus’ plumes erupt from salty, partially melted ice—not directly from the deep, raising questions about its habitability.
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Enceladus’ icy shell is constantly pulled by Saturn’s gravity, generating enough frictional heat to melt briny pockets and fuel its dramatic geysers.
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Previous theories claimed cracks in the ice let ocean water escape, but scientists now believe these fractures don’t go all the way down.
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A new model suggests friction between ice layers melts briny pockets, creating towering water plumes—without needing a direct ocean link.
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Even if the geysers don’t erupt from the deep, Enceladus still ejects water vapor, methane, and organics—potential signs of life.
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NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew through the plumes, detecting complex molecules—but are they from a vast ocean or a salty, melting crust?
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If Enceladus’ plumes aren’t directly ocean-fed, it could change how scientists search for life on other frozen moons like Europa.
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Briny pockets in the ice might still exchange material with the ocean below—meaning life could still be lurking beneath the frozen surface.
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