New Research Reveals Connection Between Motion on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus and Ice Jets
New research on Saturn’s moon Enceladus has unveiled a fascinating link between sliding side-by-side motion along its distinctive “tiger stripes” and the jets of ice crystals erupting from its icy shell. These tiger stripes, which consist of four parallel line fractures on the moon’s south pole, were first observed by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2005.
According to the study, the activity of the jets appears to vary in pattern with the moon’s orbit around Saturn, with peaks in brightness not directly correlated with tidal stresses. A new numerical simulation of Enceladus’ tidal stresses and the motion of the tiger stripe fractures suggests that strike-slip motion is related to jet activity. Researchers found a high correlation between strike-slip motion and jet brightness in their simulation.
One unexpected finding from the research was the opening and closing of pull-apart zones on Enceladus that allow water to rise and feed cryovolcanic jets. Tides are believed to regulate material flow from the subsurface ocean through the tiger stripe fractures on Enceladus on orbital and long-term timescales.
Understanding these transport pathways is crucial for determining if the ice grains in Enceladus’ jets represent the moon’s potentially habitable global ocean. The research also suggests that the long-term influence of tides on the evolution of Enceladus implies the moon’s ocean is long-lived, with implications for the potential evolution of life in the interior.
However, geophysical measurements at Enceladus using radar are needed to confirm or refute the hypotheses laid out in the study and understand the dynamics of the moon’s core and crust, as well as the extent to which these processes have been active over time. This new research sheds light on the complex interactions happening beneath the icy surface of Enceladus and adds to our understanding of this intriguing moon in the Saturnian system.
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