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Saturn Death Star Moon Might Contain A Hidden Ocean: Saturn’s moon Mimas, often noted for its resemblance to the Death Star, might hold a more intriguing secret beneath its crater-covered surface—an expansive ocean of liquid water.
Recent analysis of NASA’s Cassini probe data indicates a subtle shift in Mimas’ orbit near Saturn over 13 years, as reported on February 7 in Nature. Researchers, led by astronomer Valéry Lainey from the Paris Observatory, suggest that this orbital change, coupled with earlier observations of the moon’s wobbles, points towards a liquid interior.
Also Read: Saturn Death Star Moon Might Contain A Hidden Ocean
Saturn Death Star Moon Might Contain A Hidden Ocean: Space
Geologist Francis Nimmo from the University of California, Santa Cruz, remarks, “It’s a very surprising result. When you look at Mimas, it does not look like a moon with an ocean.”
This isn’t the first time suspicions of liquid water on Mimas have arisen. In 2014, a study proposed that rotational wobbles could be explained by a watery layer beneath its frozen surface. Skeptics argued that Saturn’s gravity would create surface cracks in such a hidden ocean. However, no such fractures have been observed.
The new findings suggest Mimas has an ice shell of 20 to 30 kilometers, followed by a 70-kilometer-deep ocean and a solid rocky core. To explain the lack of visible surface cracks, researchers propose that the ocean formed relatively recently, between 5 million and 50 million years ago.
Even though some remain unconvinced, the possibility of an ocean on Mimas could imply hidden seas in the outer solar system, encouraging further exploration. Lainey expresses excitement about the potential for future probes to investigate the interaction between fresh liquid water and a rocky core.
“It’s really the place you want to look if you want to look at the beginning of conditions for life. Whether there is life there, nobody knows,”
Lainey says.
Also Read: Saturn Death Star Moon Might Contain A Hidden Ocean
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