Thursday, March 09, 2006

Geysers on Enceladus

What?

From MSNBC
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11736311/):
Scientists have found evidence that cold, Yellowstone-like geysers of water are issuing from a moon of Saturn called Enceladus, apparently fueled by liquid reservoirs that may lie just tens of yards beneath the moon's icy surface.

..."Living organisms require liquid water and organic materials, and we know we have both on Enceladus now," she said. "The plumes through which Cassini flew last July contain methane, contain CO2, propane — they contain several organic materials."

The third necessary ingredient — energy for fueling life's processes — could exist around hydrothermal vents around the bottom of Enceladus' water reservoirs, just as it does around Earth's deep-ocean hydrothermal vents.

This is getting crazy. Ten years from now, they'll announce that they've discovered a Denny's on Jupiter.

No, not on Uranus. What they find on there is none of my business.

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