Water vapor found on Saturn moon
Water vapor found on Saturn moon
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has spotted a cloud of water vapor on a tiny moon of Saturn.
Planetary scientist Robert H. Brown of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory told the Washington Post the discovery of water vapor on Enceladus "one of the most important things ever to come out of planetary science."
From a height of 109 miles, the Cassini spacecraft's instruments spotted a cloud of water vapor venting from fissures at the moon's south pole.
The tiny moon, only 310 miles in diameter, joins Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa as the solar system's leading candidates for having liquid water beneath their chilly surfaces, the newspaper said.
NASA said Cassini is producing data and discoveries that are occupying the professional lives of as many as 500 scientists and engineers.
"We feel like we're drinking from a fire hose," said Torrence V. Johnson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20050918-22211100-bc-us-saturn.xml
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- NASA's Cassini spacecraft has spotted a cloud of water vapor on a tiny moon of Saturn.
Planetary scientist Robert H. Brown of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory told the Washington Post the discovery of water vapor on Enceladus "one of the most important things ever to come out of planetary science."
From a height of 109 miles, the Cassini spacecraft's instruments spotted a cloud of water vapor venting from fissures at the moon's south pole.
The tiny moon, only 310 miles in diameter, joins Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa as the solar system's leading candidates for having liquid water beneath their chilly surfaces, the newspaper said.
NASA said Cassini is producing data and discoveries that are occupying the professional lives of as many as 500 scientists and engineers.
"We feel like we're drinking from a fire hose," said Torrence V. Johnson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20050918-22211100-bc-us-saturn.xml
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