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back to article Warm, perhaps ALIEN LIFE-bearing water gushers FOUND ON MOON of Saturn

Boffins have now counted 101 different geysers spewing material from the surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn's icy moons. The discovery in data collected from NASA's Cassini probe reinforces the theory that a vast ocean is sloshing about beneath the cold surface. Some consider this to be the most promising location known for …

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  1. John Smith 19 Gold badge
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    Astonishing.

    Thumbs up for such results so far from home.

    Note this very different environment also allows for the construction of new weather models starting from a very different basis.

    4 0 Reply
    1. tmTM
      Reply Icon

      I wonder

      How much Oil they have.

      Do you require some Freedom??

      1 1 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Think electricity...

    0 0 Reply
    1. Faux Science Slayer
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      Think electricity....are we allowed to in public ? ? ?

      There is a group promoting the Electric Universe Theory with some compelling evidence, posted at the Thunderbolts Project site. One of the presenters, Dr Pierre-Marie Robitaille has a presentation "On the Validity of Kirchoff" at his ThermalPhysics(.)org site where he explains defects in the radiation laws by Kirchoff, Stefan, Planck and Boltzman. Basically everything we know is baloney.

      0 5 Reply
      1. hplasm
        Reply Icon
        WTF?

        Re: Think electricity....are we allowed to in public ? ? ?

        "Basically everything we know is baloney."

        that seems apparent.

        1 1 Reply
  3. Kharkov
    Angel

    Spot the Outer Planets Fuel Station of the Future...

    Plentiful water, significant temperature difference & a key location on the edge of the Outer System?

    Future colony & fuel depot... Called it!

    0 0 Reply
  4. Bunbury

    Pleanty of bears, plenty of houses

    So, the Goldilocks zone (warm enough, liquid water, etc.) is meant to be Venus to Mars. However, in that zone only the Earth seems to have liquid water, and we've got that big, anomalous moon that may make us a special case.

    However, if Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus both have liquid water that suggests that there's actually a second Golilocks zone - the moons of gas giants. Their gravity seems to be able to hoover up the water in the outer system and keep it liquid in the moons.

    So should the boffs who are searching for earthlike planets actually be more interested in gas giant moons?

    1 0 Reply
    1. ravenviz Silver badge
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      Boffin

      Re: Pleanty of bears, plenty of houses

      Goldilocks zone is defined as such, around a star*. There is no reason to suspect it can be extended to Goldilocks Conditions, either beneath the surface of a gas giant satellite, or indeed within the atmosphere of the giant itself.

      *normally considered to be free liquid water on the otherwise 'exposed to space' surface (notwithstanding an atmosphere)

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      1. Bunbury
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        Re: Pleanty of bears, plenty of houses

        That's as may be. But if it doesn't point to where Goldilocks can actually sleep it's a daft definition.

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    2. Uffish
      Reply Icon

      Re: Pleanty of bears, plenty of houses

      What are the current and future limits of observation from Earth or near earth? It seems a bit tricky to look for geysers on small moons of planets faf, far away. (Tthe diameter of Enceladus is only 500 kilometers, 310 miies). I would be much more in favour of flinging a few petri dishes at Enceladus (and perhaps Europa too).

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