2015/03/01 by Gabriel Tobie · 7 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrobiology #Astronomy #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Cosmic dust #Enceladus #Geology #Hydrothermal circulation #Icy moon #Meteorology #Physics #Planet #Planetary Science and Exploration #Plume #Saturn #Silicon
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/519162a
published in Nature 519(7542), 162-163 (Nature Portfolio)
openalex publication_date 2015/03/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The detection of silicon-rich particles originating from Saturn's moon Enceladus suggests that water–rock interactions are currently occurring inside it — the first evidence of ongoing hydrothermal activity beyond Earth. See Letter p.207 Hsiang-Wen Hsu et al. have analysed the silicon-rich, nanometre-sized dust stream particles in the Saturnian system using the Cosmic Dust Analyser (CDA) onboard the Cassini spacecraft. With the help of experiments and modelling, the particles are interpreted as silica grains that were initially embedded in the icy plume emitted from subsurface waters on Enceladus and released by sputter erosion in Saturn's E ring. Their properties indicate their formation and transport by high-temperature hydrothermal reactions from the ocean floor and up into the plume of Enceladus.