spacetoday.net: space news from around the webin association with SpaceNews


Enceladus plumes linked to tidal friction
Posted: Thu, May 17, 2007, 6:39 AM ET (1039 GMT)
Enceladus seen by Cassini in July 2005 (NASA/JPL) Frictional heating along fault lines on the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus may be the explanation for plumes of vapor emitted by the moon, scientists said this week. In a paper published in the current issue of the journal Nature, scientists said that tidal forces created by the moon's eccentric orbit around Saturn cause fault lines in the icy moon's outer shell to flex, generating heat through friction. That heat causes ice to sublimate, and in turn escapes in the form of plumes that have been detected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The mechanism doesn't require the presence of liquid water to generate the plumes, but does suggest that a liquid water ocean exists below the moon's icy shell, allowing the shell to move enough to generate the required frictional heating.
<<previous article   next article>>
news in brief
Vast reschedules Haven-1 launch for 2026
Posted: Sat, Feb 8 12:55 PM ET (1755 GMT)

Astrobotic to fly Astrolab rover on Griffin-1 lander
Posted: Sat, Feb 8 12:52 PM ET (1752 GMT)

Kremlin replaces head of Roscosmos
Posted: Sat, Feb 8 12:46 PM ET (1746 GMT)

news links
Friday, February 14
Firefly Aerospace Wins Victus Sol Mission Contract
Aviation Week — 6:05 am ET (1105 GMT)
U.S. Space Force to beef up Japan unit amid growing threat in region
Kyodo International — 6:04 am ET (1104 GMT)
Jeff Bezos-Backed Blue Origin to Cut 10% of Its Workforce
Bloomberg News — 6:02 am ET (1102 GMT)
Blue Origin lays off over 1,000 employees
Spectrum News — 6:01 am ET (1101 GMT)


about spacetoday.net   ·   info@spacetoday.net   ·   mailing list