ENCELADUS (SATURN MOON)

Have you heard the news? Cassini may be dead, but it's data is still very much alive! Check out out latest video about Cassini's exciting discovery in the plumes of Enceladus! Follow us on social media and our website! Facebook: https://facebook.com/ActiveGalacticVideos Twitter: https://twitter.com/activegalactic Instagram: https://instagram.com/activegalacticvideos Snapchat: @active_galactic Website: http://activegalacticvideos.com/ Check out some of our other videos: Highlights of the Cassini Mission https://youtu.be/JKAHESinAUw News article reference: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/saturn-moon-enceladus-complex-organics-life-space-science/

New research from the up-close Grand Finale orbits of NASA’s Cassini mission shows a surprisingly powerful interaction of plasma waves moving from Saturn to its moon Enceladus. Researchers converted the recording of plasma waves into a “whooshing” audio file that we can hear -- in the same way a radio translates electromagnetic waves into music. Much like air or water, plasma (the fourth state of matter) generates waves to carry energy. The recording was captured by the Radio Plasma Wave Science (RPWS) instrument Sept. 2, 2017, two weeks before Cassini was deliberately plunged into the atmosphere of Saturn. For more information, visit: saturn.jpl.nasa.gov Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Iowa

An update in my continuing coverage on the possibilities for life at Saturn's Moon Enceladus. "Macromolecular organic compounds from the depths of Enceladus" Postberg et al, 2018 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0246-4 Music: Cylinder Eight by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/cylinders/ Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/

Join +Fraser Cain and +Pamela Gay for a live episode of Astronomy Cast. We'll record our 30-minute show, and then stay tuned for them to answer questions! Thanks to Cassini and other spacecraft, we've learned a tremendous amount about the icy worlds in the Solar System, from Jupiter's Europa to Saturn's Enceladus, to Pluto's Charon. Geysers, food for bacteria, potential oceans under the ice and more. What new things have we learned about these places?

Enceladus is a moon of Saturn, and is one of the most promising places for alien life, in this video i take a look at how life could even exist here and i also take a look at another promising world for life Europa. My twitter: https://twitter.com/Dreksler_Astral Intro, outro and other clips in the video were made with Space Engine. Music: Backpacking - Silent Partner

And we come to the end of our punt through the waters of the Saturn system, with an examination of its smaller moons Universe of Water playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa0TgREKn12jUoCK0N4qQVgTgGalS6KDG CORRECTIONS: 13:49 : Water reacts with the crust, causing the crust to combine with the oxygen in the water and hydrogen to be released. 18:20 : Lagrange points are similar to hills; some are low, rolling and stable, others are narrow and sharp, and require constant readjustment to retain position. 22:32 : As can be plainly seen in the diagram, Iapetus's inclination is over 15 degrees, not 7. To be honest I can't remember where I came up with that one. Universe of Water playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M186s319ob8&list=PLa0TgREKn12jUoCK0N4qQVgTgGalS6KDG Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parallaxicality/?ref=bookmarks Me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickrwebb?lang=en-gb

Enceladus’ environment could totally be habitable for at least one real-world microbe and we just found the oldest supernova. Host: Caitlin Hofmeister ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ---------- Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters: Kelly Landrum Jones, Sam Lutfi, Kevin Knupp, Nicholas Smith, D.A. Noe, alexander wadsworth, سلط الخليفي, Piya Shedden, KatieMarie Magnone, Scott Satovsky Jr, Charles Southerland, Bader AlGhamdi, James Harshaw, Patrick Merrithew, Patrick D. Ashmore, Candy, Tim Curwick, charles george, Saul, Mark Terrio-Cameron, Viraansh Bhanushali, Kevin Bealer, Philippe von Bergen, Chris Peters, Justin Lentz ---------- Like SciShow? Want to help support us, and also get things to put on your walls, cover your torso and hold your liquids? Check out our awesome products over at DFTBA Records: http://dftba.com/scishow ---------- Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow ---------- Sources: https://press.nature.com/?post_type=press_release&p=106051 http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/s41467-018-02876-y https://press.nature.com/wp-content/uploads/files/2018/02/41467_2018_Article_2876.pdf https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-02/uos-ars021918.php https://authors.library.caltech.edu/84741/1/Smith_2018_ApJ_854_37.pdf ----------- Images: https://www.nasa.gov/content/satellite-view-of-the-americas-on-earth-day http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-illustration-fun-hippo-vector-illustration/540857252 https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20013/enceladus https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia14658.html https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1510.html https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1243.html https://www.eurekalert.org/multimedia/pub/163333.php?from=385309 https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/supernova-ejected-from-the-pages-of-history.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/magnetar-near-supermassive-black-hole-delivers-surprises.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/young-magnetar-likely-the-slowest-pulsar-ever-detected.html

Looking for a new home beyond Earth? Icy moons could be a hot contender. Waves Can Tell Us A Lot About Climate Change, But You Have To Catch Them First https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toeoYNQNZgA Subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzWQYUVCpZqtN93H8RR44Qw Read More: Future Space Colony? Maybe We Should Look Beyond Mars to Saturn's Titan Moon https://www.seeker.com/space/exploration/future-space-colony-maybe-we-should-look-beyond-mars-to-saturns-titan-moon “NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are focused on getting astronauts to Mars and even one day establishing a colony on the Red Planet — but what if their attention is better directed elsewhere? “ What It Would Be Like to Live on Saturn's Moons Titan and Enceladus https://www.space.com/28786-living-on-saturn-moons-titan-enceladus.html “Without a solid surface, Saturn isn't likely a place we could ever live. But the gas giant does have numerous moons, some of which would make fascinating locations for space colonies, particularly Titan and Enceladus.” Plumes From Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Hint That It Could Support Life https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/science/saturn-cassini-moon-enceladus.html?mtrref=undefined “Could icy moons like Saturn’s Enceladus in the outer solar system be home to microbes or other forms of alien life? Intriguing new findings from data collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft suggest the possibility.” Check Out Focal Point on Facebook! - https://www.facebook.com/FocalPointShow/ Sign Up For The Seeker Newsletter Here - http://bit.ly/1UO1PxI ____________________ Seeker inspires us to see the world through the lens of science and evokes a sense of curiosity, optimism and adventure. Visit the Seeker website https://www.seeker.com/ Subscribe now! https://www.youtube.com/user/DNewsChannel Seeker on Twitter http://twitter.com/seeker Seeker on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SeekerMedia/ Seeker http://www.seeker.com/

My twitter: https://twitter.com/Dreksler_Astral Enceladus is a tiny oceanic moon orbiting a gas giant Saturn. So what would standing on this icy moon be like? In this video i discuss that. Intro, outro and other clips in the video made with Space Engine. Music: Kevin MacLeod - Crypto

Planetary scientist Dr. Jonathan Lunine of Cornell University discusses the Cassini mission’s exploration of Enceladus and what that moon has taught us about ocean worlds in the outer solar system. Dr. Lunine stresses that Enceladus is the best candidate world at which life may exist beyond Earth in our solar system. This was the third presentation in the Lunar and Planetary Institute’s 2017–2018 Cosmic Exploration Speaker Series, “Diving into Ocean Worlds.”

Forget rocky worlds like Earth and Mars. New discoveries about icy worlds like Europa and Enceladus make them the ideal candidates for the search for life in the Universe. In fact there could be hundreds, or even thousands of times more worlds out there with ability to support life. Of course, there’s a problem, how do we search for life when it’s hidden beneath kilometers of ice? Get an email announcement whenever we release a new video: http://eepurl.com/dcThQ5 Support us at: http://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at: http://www.universetoday.com/ Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+universetoday/ Instagram - http://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / [email protected] Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - [email protected] Chloe Cain - Instagram: @chloegwen2001 Decades ago, Mars seemed like the most viable place to search for life in the Solar System. The Red Planet is cold, dry and airless today, but it certainly seemed to have liquid water there in the ancient past. Of course, wherever we find liquid water here on Earth, we find life. At the bottom of the ocean, where the crushing pressures would kill us in a moment. In steaming volcanic vents. Beneath glaciers, deep underground, even huddled in nuclear reactor cooling tanks. NASA’s Mars exploration program has been following the story of water. Opportunity and Spirit discovered evidence that Mars had liquid water in the ancient past. And the Curiosity Rover doubled down on that, finding minerals that indicate there was water on the surface of Mars for a long time. But then, long ago, the conditions changed, Mars lost its atmosphere, became cold, dry and inhospitable to life. It’s possible that life could still be there on Mars, huddled underground in salty reserves that prevent the water from freezing or evaporating. But so far, scientists haven’t found it yet. This shows that life on rocky worlds is tenuous at best. Too close to the star, or too far. Not a thick enough atmosphere, or too thick, creates a world that’s inhospitable to life. And even if a world was, briefly a place worth calling home, main sequence stars are constantly putting out more radiation, shifting the habitable zone farther out. Think about how long Earth will be habitable. Life crawled out from the oceans 430 million years ago, and planetary scientists estimate we’ve only got another 500 million to a billion years before the Sun gets too hot and boils the oceans dry. But now we’re discovering there are other places in the Solar System to look for life - water worlds. In fact, the number of these places, and the amount of liquid water on them is difficult to wrap your brain around. The Earth is a desert compared to the amount of liquid water that’s out there in the Solar System. Europa alone has 2-3 times as much water on Earth. And this life could be safe and sound, protected from radiation, meteor impacts and nearby supernovae for billions of years. Long after the Sun has burned out and faded away.

ENCELADUS, SATURN — Scientists looking at data pulled from NASA's Cassini spacecraft may have found out how Saturn's ocean moon Enceladus remains geologically active. The research, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that tidal currents flow through the moon's porous core, where the friction between rocks generate heat that warms the ocean. According to the European Space Agency, this tidal heating is primarily caused by the gravitational pull of Saturn. Writing in 2008, the space agency speculated that the deep sea vent theory could apply to life on Enceladus. When applied to Earth, this suggests life originated from chemical, heat and tidal interactions beneath the seabed. NASA previously said Enceladus has all the ingredients for life, reported CNET, citing the space agency. ----------------------------------------­--------------------- TomoNews is your best source for real news. We cover the funniest, craziest and most talked-about stories on the internet. Our tone is irreverent and unapologetic. If you’re laughing, we’re laughing. If you’re outraged, we’re outraged. We tell it like it is. And because we can animate stories, TomoNews brings you news like you’ve never seen before. Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.com Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f Get your TomoNews merch today! http://bit.ly/tomonews-teespring Get top stories delivered to your inbox everyday: http://bit.ly/tomo-newsletter Stay connected with us here: Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/ Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus

A new study based on information gathered by the Cassini spacecraft furthers hope for the habitability of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

On a flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus, the Cassini spacecraft makes an unprecedented discovery that will push the mission to fly closer. ➡ Subscribe: http://bit.ly/NatGeoSubscribe ➡ MISSION SATURN AIRS FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15 at 9/8c. About Mission Saturn: NASA’s biggest spacecraft plunges into Saturn in the final act of a 20-year mission showcasing the planet like never before. About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. Through their world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo gets you closer to the stories that matter and past the edge of what's possible. Get More National Geographic: Official Site: http://bit.ly/NatGeoOfficialSite Facebook: http://bit.ly/FBNatGeo Twitter: http://bit.ly/NatGeoTwitter Instagram: http://bit.ly/NatGeoInsta Exploring Saturn's Moons | Mission Saturn https://youtu.be/QxFSn_LTJkg National Geographic https://www.youtube.com/natgeo

Is the subsurface ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus the most likely place in our solar system to harbor life? Dive in with StarTalk All-Stars host and planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, guest NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay, and co-host Chuck Nice. For more exclusive content and commercial-free full episodes, subscribe to StarTalkAllAccess.com If you love StarTalk Radio, don't miss out on any StarTalk news. Sign up for our free newsletter: http://www.startalkradio.net/newsletter/youtube/ Catch up with StarTalk Radio around the web: iTunes - http://bit.ly/SOHDg6 SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/startalk Stitcher - http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/startalk TuneIn - http://tunein.com/radio/StarTalk-Radio-p334521/ Google Play Music - https://play.google.com/music/m/I6lczawbvvafjdburzbcc23aacu?t=StarTalk_Radio Twitter - https://twitter.com/StarTalkRadio Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/StarTalkRadio Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+startalkradio Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/add/startalk-radio Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/startalk/ Tumblr - http://startalkradio.tumblr.com/ Instagram - http://instagram.com/startalkradio The List App - https://li.st/startalkradio

The NASA Cassini spacecraft pointed its cameras in the direction of the moon on Aug. 28, 2017. William Hershel discovered Enceladus on Aug 28, 1789. The Cassini mission will come to an end on Sept. 15, 2017. Imagery courtesy: NASA/JPL/SSI/edited by Space.com's Steve Spaleta http://www.twitter.com/stevespaleta

Enceladus, one of saturn's moons, impresses with mystery geysers that spit out into space. This documentary about the findings of the Cassini-Hyugens spacecraft shows the beautiful geysers and answers the question: Does life exist on Saturn or one of his moons? ---- This channel offers you full episodes of high quality documentaries. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe 🙂 ---- Other channels you might be interested in: criminals and crimefighters: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYuXyzwA_w4-c1FJrqOnR0A hazards and catastrophes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5WE_bClugxSVG1ENir8qzg

Professor Jay Nadeau describes her lab's work and proposal to use new microscopes on spacecraft that could visit the icy moons of Enceladus (Saturn) and Europa (Jupiter) to collect and search water samples for life. Read more: https://www.caltech.edu/news/holographic-imaging-could-be-used-detect-signs-life-space-78931

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured a striking image of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Right now the Cassini spacecraft is flying between the rings of Saturn and the planet itself, a daring trajectory chosen to conclude a unique exploration mission. To find out what that orbit means, and to look back at some of Cassini-Huygens finest moments, we met up with key members of the science team in the UK for this edition of Space. This video is also available in the following languages: German https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXeX4xDy32U Italian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ptu4qs1Oc French https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dpvBbYa358 Spanish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJPsi61AnkY Portuguese https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZq2LywHs04 Hungarian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVvTZ9Ij02k Greek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUQ4_Md1eZ0

The Cassini probe is getting more dangerous assignments as its mission nears its end, and the sun's surface may be simpler than we once thought. ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ---------- Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters—Kevin, Bealer, Mark Terrio-Cameron, KatieMarie Magnone, Patrick Merrithew, Charles Southerland, Fatima Iqbal, Sultan Alkhulaifi, Tim Curwick, Scott Satovsky Jr, Philippe von Bergen, Bella Nash, Bryce Daifuku, Chris Peters, Patrick D. Ashmore, Piya Shedden, Charles George ---------- Like SciShow? Want to help support us, and also get things to put on your walls, cover your torso and hold your liquids? Check out our awesome products over at DFTBA Records: http://dftba.com/scishow ---------- Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow ---------- Sources: Cassini: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2017-126 https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/grand-finale/overview/ https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/indepth http://articles.latimes.com/2004/jun/29/science/sci-cassini29 http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Cassini-Huygens_Frequently_Asked_Questions_FAQs https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2017-117 http://www.space.com/3611-bizarre-hexagon-spotted-saturn.html http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2008/1392.html http://www.space.com/16571-saturn-rings-cassini-photos.html https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/enceladus/ https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/titan/ Solar Eruptions: https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v544/n7651/full/nature22050.html http://www.space.com/36615-big-sun-storms-little-burps-same-trigger.html https://phys.org/news/2017-04-sun-eruptions-trigger.html https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/aps-sut110310.php https://arxiv.org/abs/1607.02108 https://arxiv.org/abs/1307.0166?context=astro-ph http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/coronal-mass-ejections https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/spaceweather/index.html Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cassini_Saturn_Orbit_Insertion.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:8423_20181_1saturn2016.jpg https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110227.html https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1243.html https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA17655 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PIA18274-Saturn-NorthPolarHexagon-Cassini-20140402.jpg https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7642/ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plasma_magnet_saturn.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpKPaDTVy36z0U8GxoiIkZa&v=xrGAQCq9BMU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LBLCgCYy0I https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cassini-huygens_anim.gif https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2017-126 https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/what-is-a-coronal-mass-ejection https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/Solar-Jets.html https://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/sdo_cycle.html https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/sdo/potw603-brief-outburst/index.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/Solar%20Jets.html https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/coronal-cavities.html

Dive between Saturn and its rings with NASA's Cassini spacecraft in the final chapter of its mission. In this 360-degree visualization, you are traveling along with the spacecraft at tens of thousands of miles per hour as it makes one of 22 planned dives through this unexplored gap. The first dive of Cassini's Grand Finale takes place on April 26, 2017, with additional dives about once a week. Watch the full story of the Grand Finale at https://youtu.be/xrGAQCq9BMU. More information about the finale is available at https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/grandfinale. Note: Not all browsers support viewing 360 videos. YouTube supports playback of 360-degree videos on computers using Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera browsers. Use the YouTube app to view it on a smart phone.

Did you hear that NASA just announced an important discovery in the quest to find life on other places in the Solar System? In this quick episode, Fraser details what NASA found on Enceladus and Europa, and what it means for the search for life. Support us at: http://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at: http://www.universetoday.com/ Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+universetoday/ Instagram - http://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / [email protected] Karla Thompson - @karlaii Chad Weber - [email protected] I know, I know, this is getting comically hilarious. Aliens, next episode. Although maybe, aliens this episode? Anyway, NASA made a huge announcement today, and I thought it was important enough to stop everything we were doing, call Chad and Karla back to Universe Today headquarters to help me cover it. Here’s the announcement: NASA announced today that they’ve found an important chemical for life - hydrogen gas - blasting out of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. In addition to this, they confirmed that Jupiter’s Europa has icy geysers too. We’ve known about Enceladus’ plumes for a while, so the discovery of hydrogen gas is pretty exciting. We’ve suspected Europa has jets, but more confirmation of their existence is great. We don’t know if there’s hydrogen gas in Europa’s plumes… yet, but there’s a spacecraft in the works to help us find out. Let’s get into the details. Earlier this week, NASA teased us that they were going to be announcing something interesting about the ocean worlds of the Solar System. They were vague on details, but Mike Brown confirmed what I’d always expected: Europan Space Whales. I was all ready to hear their mournful songs, muffled by kilometers of ice, but I was sadly disappointed. Okay fine, the reality turned out to be pretty cool too. NASA announced that they’ve found evidence that there’s hydrogen gas pouring into the water of one of Saturn’s icy moons: Enceladus. The source of this hydrogen is probably some kind of hydrothermal activity down beneath the ocean. The tidal interactions between Enceladus and Saturn heat up the moon, giving it vast oceans, which spews water into space from cracks at its southern pole. Here on Earth, remember, wherever we find water, we find life. And one really interesting place that we find life is surrounding volcanic hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean. These volcanic vents belch plumes of material into the ocean, and serve as the energy source for a vast array of lifeforms. Heat loving thermophilic bacteria known as methanogens absorb the hydrogen coming from these vents and use them as an energy source. Other creatures eat this bacteria, and you’ve got a thriving ecosystem and food chain. One of the most interesting things about these hydrothermal vents is how they provide a completely separate ecosystem from the rest of life on Earth. They couldn’t care one bit if the Sun disappeared tomorrow, and all life died. They’d keep slurping up their hydrogen gas, going and going. And that’s why this discovery about Enceladus is so exciting. In their announcement, planetary scientists working with Cassini described how the spacecraft detected this hydrogen gas in the plumes blasting out of Enceladus. On October 28, 2015, the spacecraft made its deepest dive through the plumes coming out of Enceladus. It sampled the icy material and found that 98% of the plumes is water, 1% is hydrogen, and the rest is a mixture of ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide. Cassini isn’t equipped to search for life. It just doesn’t have the instruments on board. Its Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer instrument did the next best thing. It found food for bacteria. When this environment is found on Earth, bacteria has a feeding frenzy. That’s pretty exciting. The discovery over on Europa is different. Astronomers had suspected there were plumes on Europa like Enceladus, based on images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope back in 2014. But the results were inconclusive. The Hubble team took a second round of images in 2016, and detected plumes coming from the same region of Europa, confirming their existence. Is there hydrogen gas in those plumes too? We have no idea yet, but we soon will. In a second, I’m going to explain what we’re going to do about this. What plans are in place to study this even further, but first I’d like to thank Khaled Al Tal, Isaac Arthur, Lee Stuurmans, Larry Johnson, Ryan Williams, and the rest of our 705 patrons for their generous support. If you love what we’re doing and want to help out, head over to patreon.com/universetoday. Now we see another tantalizing clue that there could be life in the oceans of Europa and Enceladus, what are we doing to do about it? What plans are in place to go back and study these worlds up close?

Earlier this week NASA made a press release about finding hydrogen gas on one of the moon's of Saturn, Enceladus! This is a KEY ingredient for harboring life. With further research, it may be found that there are some form of microbe/bacterial life on this moon! EXCITING STUFF!! Thanks for watching guys! xoxo

During a NASA science briefing on April 13, representatives from the agency discussed new results about ocean worlds in our solar system based on data gathered by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope. The two veteran missions are providing tantalizing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further enhancing the scientific interest of these and other "ocean worlds" in our solar system and beyond. New research from Cassini indicates that hydrogen gas, which could potentially provide a chemical energy source for life, is pouring into the ocean of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus from hydrothermal vents in the seafloor. The Cassini spacecraft detected the hydrogen in the plume of gas and icy material spraying from Enceladus during its deepest dive through the plume on Oct. 28, 2015.This means that ocean microbes -- if any exist there -- could use the hydrogen to produce energy NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope saw a probable plume of material erupting from the moon’s surface on 2016, at the same location where Hubble saw evidence of a plume in 2014. These images bolster evidence that the Europa plumes could be a real phenomenon, flaring up intermittently in the same region on the moon's surface. Both Cassini and Hubble investigations are laying the groundwork for NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which is being planned for launch in the 2020s.

NASA will discuss new results about ocean worlds in our solar system from the agency’s Cassini spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope from the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Subscribe to TIME ►► http://po.st/SubscribeTIME The news briefing participants will be: • Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington • Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters • Mary Voytek, astrobiology senior scientist at NASA Headquarters • Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California • Hunter Waite, Cassini Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer team lead at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio • Chris Glein, Cassini INMS team associate at SwRI • William Sparks, astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore Get closer to the world of entertainment and celebrity news as TIME gives you access and insight on the people who make what you watch, read and share. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2EFFA5DB900C633F Money helps you learn how to spend and invest your money. Find advice and guidance you can count on from how to negotiate, how to save and everything in between. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYOGLpQQfhNKdqS_Wccs94rMHiajrRr4W Find out more about the latest developments in science and technology as TIME’s access brings you to the ideas and people changing our world. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYOGLpQQfhNIzsgcwqhT6ctKOfHfyuaL3 Let TIME show you everything you need to know about drones, autonomous cars, smart devices and the latest inventions which are shaping industries and our way of living https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2862F811BE8F5623 Stay up to date on breaking news from around the world through TIME’s trusted reporting, insight and access https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYOGLpQQfhNJeIsW3A2d5Bs22Wc3PHma6 CONNECT WITH TIME Web: http://time.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TIME Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/time Google+: https://plus.google.com/+TIME/videos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en Magazine: http://time.com/magazine/ Newsletter: time.com/newsletter ABOUT TIME TIME brings unparalleled insight, access and authority to the news. A 24/7 news publication with nearly a century of experience, TIME’s coverage shapes how we understand our world. Subscribe for daily news, interviews, science, technology, politics, health, entertainment, and business updates, as well as exclusive videos from TIME’s Person of the Year, TIME 100 and more created by TIME’s acclaimed writers, producers and editors. NASA Reveals New Discoveries On Ocean Worlds In Our Solar System | TIME https://www.youtube.com/user/TimeMagazine

NASA's Cassini spacecraft discovered hydrogen in the plume of gas and icy particles spraying from Saturn's moon Enceladus. The discovery means the small, icy moon — which has a global ocean under its surface — has a source of chemical energy that could be useful for microbes, if any exist there. The finding also provides further evidence that warm, mineral-laden water is pouring into the ocean from vents in the seafloor. On Earth, such hydrothermal vents support thriving communities of life in complete isolation from sunlight. Enceladus now appears likely to have all three of the ingredients scientists think life needs: liquid water, a source of energy (like sunlight or chemical energy), and the right chemical ingredients (like carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen).  Cassini is not able to detect life, and has found no evidence that Enceladus is inhabited. But if life is there, that means life is probably common throughout the cosmos; if life has not evolved there, it would suggest life is probably more complicated or unlikely than we have thought. Either way the implications are profound. Future missions to this icy moon may shed light on its habitability. Read the full news release at http://go.nasa.gov/2owaLgU White smoker footage courtesy of: NOAA-OER / C.German (WHOI)

You might not want to sign up for the Enceladus Ice Hockey League... And some researchers have an idea that might make the Big Bang model more accurate! ---------- Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/scishow ---------- Dooblydoo thanks go to the following Patreon supporters—we couldn't make SciShow without them! Shoutout to Kevin Bealer, Mark Terrio-Cameron, KatieMarie Magnone, Patrick Merrithew, Charles Southerland, Fatima Iqbal, Benny, Kyle Anderson, Tim Curwick, Scott Satovsky Jr, Will and Sonja Marple, Philippe von Bergen, Bella Nash, Bryce Daifuku, Chris Peters, Patrick D. Ashmore, Charles George, Bader AlGhamdi ---------- Like SciShow? Want to help support us, and also get things to put on your walls, cover your torso and hold your liquids? Check out our awesome products over at DFTBA Records: http://dftba.com/scishow ---------- Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/scishow Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/scishow Tumblr: http://scishow.tumblr.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/thescishow ---------- Sources: Enceladus: http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/s41550-017-0063 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/cassini-closes-in-on-enceladus-one-last-time https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/cassini-sees-forces-controlling-enceladus-jets https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/enceladus/ http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/The_most_reflective_body_in_the_Solar_System http://www.universetoday.com/8044/enceladus-replenishes-saturns-e-ring/ The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet, 98-99. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0143123645 https://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/wisdom/porco-enceladus.pdf http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v3/n2/full/ngeo763.html http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103515003899 https://www.nasa.gov/jpl/cassini/enceladus-pia18071 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/an-ice-worldwith-an-ocean http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2006GL028799/full http://www.space.com/28796-hot-springs-enceladus-saturn-moon.html https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/enceladus-jets-surprises-in-starlight http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v447/n7142/abs/nature05783.html https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/wiley/enceladus-s-internal-ocean-and-ice-shell-constrained-from-cassini-zaejYkQjLD https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/radio-detection-and-ranging/ http://pds-imaging.jpl.nasa.gov/documentation/Cassini_RADAR_Users_Guide.pdf Lithium: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/834/2/165/ http://aasnova.org/2017/02/15/fixing-the-big-bang-theorys-lithium-problem/ http://w.astro.berkeley.edu/~mwhite/darkmatter/bbn.html http://cbc.arizona.edu/~salzmanr/480a/480ants/kmtmod/kmtmod.html http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/BBNS.html https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/thermodynamics/temp-kinetic-theory-ideal-gas-law/a/what-is-the-maxwell-boltzmann-distribution http://homepages.spa.umn.edu/~llrw/a5022/f14/EarlyU.pdf Images: Thumbnail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Enceladus_from_Voyager.jpg https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/pia14594.html https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/services/missions/solarsystem/Cassini.html https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glowing_metal.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jet_Spots_in_Tiger_Stripes_PIA10361.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europa_orbit.theora.ogv https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=pia19058 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Champagne_vent_white_smokers.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scheme_of_nuclear_reaction_chains_for_Big_Bang_nucleosynthesis.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pleiades_large.jpg

We speak to NASA JPL planetary scientist Bonnie Buratti on the study of the Solar System, the search for signs of life, Planet 9, Pluto's status and what the future may hold for exoplanet exploration.

If NASA finds living organisms on Saturn’s moon, it would mean that alien life would finally be at our reach using current space technology. And if there's a recipe for life, Enceladus has it. With evidence of liquid water, organic materials, nitrogen, energy sources, and much more Enceladus could be the closest object to the Earth with extra-terrestrial life on it. Could this moon be a world of its own? Subscribe to us here: https://www.youtube.com/user/yourdiscoveryscience?sub_confirmation=1 Like us at: https://www.Facebook.com/yourdiscoveryscience

How Cassini’s sleuthing revealed an active ocean world in orbit around Saturn. For more info, visit https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/

Where else in our solar system is there water? How are oceans in outer space different than ours? Is The Moon A Star? - https://youtu.be/tYYgHq1FfDk Sign Up For The Seeker Newsletter Here - http://bit.ly/1UO1PxI Read More: Cassini Finds Global Ocean in Saturn's Moon Enceladus http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4718 “Researchers found the magnitude of the moon's very slight wobble, as it orbits Saturn, can only be accounted for if its outer ice shell is not frozen solid to its interior, meaning a global ocean must be present.” Does Jupiter's Moon Europa Have a Subsurface Ocean? Here's What We Know http://www.space.com/34172-europa-subsurface-ocean-what-we-know.html “NASA will hold a briefing today (Sept. 26) on new findings about "activity that may be related to the presence of a subsurface ocean on Europa." Jupiter's moon Europa is often touted as a possible abode for life, because of the potential liquid water ocean beneath its icy surface. But how much do we know about Europa, really?” Evidence Mounts for Ocean on Jupiter's Moon Europa http://www.seeker.com/evidence-mounts-for-ocean-on-jupiters-moon-europa-2016783960.html “Some of the longest linear features did not fit predicted patterns of fractures that should be created by tides as Europa orbits Jupiter. Instead, the patterns matched what would happen if Europa's surface could move independently, without being locked to the interior, such as what would happen if a layer of liquid or slightly warmer ice existed between the crust and the deep interior, NASA said.” ____________________ DNews is dedicated to satisfying your curiosity and to bringing you mind-bending stories & perspectives you won't find anywhere else! New videos daily. Watch More DNews on Seeker http://www.seeker.com/show/dnews/ Subscribe now! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=dnewschannel Seeker on Twitter http://twitter.com/seeker Trace Dominguez on Twitter https://twitter.com/tracedominguez DNews on Facebook https://facebook.com/DiscoveryNews DNews on Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/+dnews Seeker http://www.seeker.com/ Sign Up For The Seeker Newsletter Here: http://bit.ly/1UO1PxI Written By: Trace Dominguez

Unmanned spacecraft Cassini's mission is diverted when it captures footage of water erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, suggesting the potential for life. Subscribe to Discovery TV for more great clips: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=DiscoveryTV Follow Discovery on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DiscoveryUK

StarTalk Radio - Enceladus Up Close, with Carolyn Porco - Neil deGrasse Tyson talk ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is the subsurface ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus the most likely place in our solar system to harbor life? Dive in with StarTalk All-Stars host and planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, guest NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay, and co-host Chuck Nice. Google plus: https://plus.google.com/b/113928632301700031614/113928632301700031614/posts Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3793118961193845741#allposts Twitter: https://twitter.com/gragas11091 Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/omgdangerouslyfoulstudentfan Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gragas1109/startalk-radio/ Redit: https://www.reddit.com/user/gragas1109/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJBJ1cgjmqLTmJDPPrAPp0w

After more than 12 years studying Saturn, its rings and moons, NASA's Cassini spacecraft has entered the final year of its epic voyage. The conclusion of the historic scientific odyssey is planned for September 2017, but not before the spacecraft completes a daring two-part endgame. Highlights of Cassini’s ambitious inquiry at Saturn and an overview of science observations in the final orbits. Cassini’s exciting challenges, and promise of the final year of the mission, ultimately flying through a region where no spacecraft has ever flown before. Speaker: Linda Spilker, Cassini Project Scientist, JPL

NASA'S UNEXPLAINED FILES Tuesdays 9/8c on Science Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, has icy water jets. The geyser plumes on Enceladus are 8,000 times larger than those on Earth. Watch full episodes of NASA's Unexplained Files: https://www.sciencechannelgo.com/nasas-unexplained-files/ Subscribe to Science Channel: http://bit.ly/SubscribeScience Check out the all new seeker.com: http://www.seeker.com/

One day it will be an amazing scientific accomplishment when we colonize and bring life to a moon like Saturn's icy Enceladus. Subscribe for new videos weekly! 5. Triton Photographs and data sent back from the Voyager 2 spacecraft back in August of 1989 showed that the surface of Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, was made up of nitrogen ice and rock. The suspicion of liquid water being hidden beneath the surface was raised. Even though the moon has an atmosphere, it would be pretty much the same as if it didn’t have one because of how thin it is. The average temperature on the moon is an unbelievable -391 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the coldest body in the entirety of our solar system. 4. Mimas Also known as the “Death Star” moon and for good reason. Mimas is one of Saturn’s icy and rocky moons. Mimas might have an ocean located beneath its cold and unwelcoming -looking surface, which may possibly be better adapted for life. Close study of the Cassini footage by scientists shows that Mimas looks to rock back and forth as it went around on its orbit. This could imply activity underneath its surface. However, scientists were very wary with what they found, stating that there hadn’t been any other signs that point to geological activity. They merely stated that if an ocean was discovered, the moon could definitely be a candidate for being colonized. It’s believed that the theoretical ocean would be about 15 to 18 miles below the surface. If the rocking movement that supports this theory of an ocean proves to be false, then the movement is mostly likely because of a misshapen core due to the strong gravitational pull caused by Saturn’s rings 3. Callisto Exactly the same size as the planet Mercury, Callisto is Jupiter’s second largest moon that looks like it has a large liquid ocean hidden within its icy surface. The surface of Callisto mainly made up of craters and what are basically fields of ice. Callisto also has a relatively thin atmosphere consisting of carbon dioxide. Research that already been performed has suggested that this atmosphere is being filled up again and again by carbon dioxide that is released from below the surface because it is too thin to stay in place. Collected data implies the chance that oxygen could also be actively present inside of the atmosphere, but there would need to be further tests to confirm if this theory holds true. Callisto is positioned in a safe enough space from Jupiter that the giant planet’s radiation levels would be very mild. 2. Ganymede Ganymede happens to be Jupiter’s largest moon and like other masses, in our solar system, it could potentially prove to have water trapped underneath its surface. If you were to compare it to other ice-covered moons, Ganymede’s surface is believed to be relatively thin and should be much easier to break through. This moon also happens to be the only moon with its own gravitational field that creates its own auroras, like the ones that are produced here on earth. Their pattern in movement also leads scientists to theorize there is an ocean trapped underneath the surface. Because of Ganymede’s thin oxygen atmosphere, it is too thin to support our life but maybe enough to support terraforming. Back in 2012, the European Space Agency got the okay to go ahead and launch a mission to go and explore Ganymede and two other of Jupiter’s moons, Europa and Callisto. The operation is scheduled to launch in 2022 and reach the moon 10 years later. Out of the three moons to be explored, scientists believe that Ganymede will have the best environment to study and potentially support life, if possible. 1. The Moon The first moon that mankind would colonate would, of course, be the earth’s very own moon. It’s been described as a good “dress rehearsal” for potential colonization missions in the future because of how close it is to earth compared to all the other moons. Earlier in March of this year, there was a story that was going around that this type of operation could be carried out within the next 10 years or so. NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay is one of the individuals whose onboard with making this mission come to fruition. His opinion is that other missions to the moon have failed because of the high cost, but his team has a plan that requires little compared to previous missions. Although NASA’s current focus is to get humans to land on Mars, McKay says that that won’t come to light until they can first get to the moon and set up permanent bases there first.

The age of Saturn's rings and the source of Enceladus's hydrothermal energy have been hotly debated topics for years. Recently the age of Saturn's moons interior to Titan, previously thought to be as old as Saturn, also became actively debated. I will show how computer simulations of the past orbital dynamics of Saturn's moons Tethys, Dione and Rhea can tell us how long they have been around. It appears that the inner moons and rings of Saturn are only about 100 million years, equivalent to the Cretaceous period on Earth. I will also discuss how the present moons likely originated from debris resulting from a major orbital instability in which the previous generation of icy moons was destroyed.

Saturn's Moons and Rings May Be Younger Than the Dinosaurs Some of Saturn's icy moons may have been formed after many dinosaurs roamed the Earth. New computer modeling of the Saturnian system suggests the rings and moons may be no more than 100 million years old. Saturn hosts 62 known moons. All of them are influenced not only by the gravity of the planet, but also by each other's gravities. A new computer model suggests that the Saturnian moons Tethys, Dione and Rhea haven't seen the kinds of changes in their orbital tilts that are typical for moons that have lived in the system and interacted with other moons over long periods of time. In other words, these appear to be very young moons. "Moons are always changing their orbits. That's inevitable," Matija Cuk, principal investigator at the SETI Institute and one of the authors of the new research, said in a statement. "But that fact allows us to use computer simulations to tease out the history of Saturn's inner moons. Doing so, we find that they were most likely born during the most recent 2 percent of the planet's history." The age of Saturn's rings has come under considerable debate since their discovery in the 1600s. In 2012, however, French astronomers suggested that some of the inner moons and the planet's well-known rings may have recent origins. The researchers showed that tidal effects — which refer to "the gravitational interaction of the inner moons with fluids deep in Saturn’s interior," according to the statement — should cause the moons to move to larger orbits in a very short time. "Saturn has dozens of moons that are slowly increasing their orbital size due to tidal effects. In addition, pairs of moons may occasionally move into orbital resonances. This occurs when one moon's orbital period becomes a simple fraction of another. For example, one moon could orbit twice as fast as another moon, or three times as fast. Once an orbital resonance takes place, the moons can affect each other's gravity, even if they are very small. This will eventually elongate their orbits and tilt them from their original orbital plane. By looking at computer models that predict how extended a moon's orbit should become over time, and comparing that with the actual position of the moon today, the researchers found that the orbits of Tethys, Dione and Rhea are "less dramatically altered than previously thought," the statement said. The moons don't appear to have moved very far from where they were born. To get a more specific value for the ages of these moons, Cuk used ice geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus. The researchers assumed that the energy powering those geysers comes from tidal interactions with Saturn and that the level of geothermal activity on Enceladus has been constant, and from there, inferred the strength of the tidal forces from Saturn. Using the computer simulations, the researchers concluded that Enceladus would have moved from its original orbital position to its current one in just 100 million years — meaning it likely formed during the Cretaceous period. The larger implication is that the inner moons of Saturn and its gorgeous rings are all relatively young. (The more distant moons Titan and Iapetus would not have been formed at the same time.) "So the question arises — what caused the recent birth of the inner moons?" Cuk said in the statement. "Our best guess is that Saturn had a similar collection of moons before, but their orbits were disturbed by a special kind of orbital resonance involving Saturn's motion around the sun. Eventually, the orbits of neighboring moons crossed, and these objects collided. From this rubble, the present set of moons and rings formed." The research is being published in the Astrophysical Journal.

On March 11, 2016, Cassini's Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) will watch as the plume of gas and icy particles from the moon Enceladus passes in front of the central star in Orion's Belt. Such observations, known as stellar occultations, provide information about the density and composition of the plume. Enceladus will pass in front of Epsilon Orionis, and UVIS will watch as the light from the star is altered as it passes through the plume. Enceladus will be 536,000 miles (923,000 kilometers) from Cassini at the time; the star is about 2,000 light years away. This occultation will help fill in a key part of scientists' understanding about the gas part of plume and how it varies with time. If scientists see a similar increase in the water vapor abundance as they have seen in the particle abundance, it will suggest that the water vapor and entrained particles behave in the same way. This, in turn, will provide insight into the nature of the still poorly understood eruption mechanism behind the plume. More Details: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/flybys/enceladus20160311/

NASA has released a stunning image taken by the Cassini spacecraft which shows three of Saturn’s moons--Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas. NASA recently released a stunning image taken by its Cassini spacecraft.  It shows three of Saturn’s 62 confirmed moons in one group shot.  Above the planet’s visible rings is Tethys which is 660 miles across, and the two below are Enceladus at 313 miles across and Mimas at 246 miles across. The image was captured on December 3rd from a narrow-angle camera aboard Cassini when it was about 837,000 miles from the Enceladus, the closest moon.  The perspective, according to a press release, is “toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 0.4 degrees above the ring plane.”

On first glance the two moons of Rhea and Enceladus appear on either side of Saturn's rings. But look closer and you'll see a tiny speck in between them. That's Atlas. What appears to be two is actually three.  Saturn's moons Rhea and Enceladus stand out starkly against the dark black of deep space—appearing above and below the planet's famous rings.  Yet almost hidden and perhaps not quite discernible at first glance, is a tiny speck of a moon called Atlas.  It's stashed away in between two ring lines and sits to the upper left of the much-larger-appearing Rhea. NASA notes, "This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 0.34 degrees below the ring plane." The satellite trio was caught on camera by the Cassini orbiter's narrow-angle camera on September 24th, 2015.  Cassini’s Saturn-focused mission is a joint undertaking between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

The Cassini mission’s much anticipated and final near flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus has come and gone. The Cassini Mission’s much anticipated and final near flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus has come and gone.  That close encounter occurred on Saturday, December 19th, and the data and images gathered are in the process of being downloaded. Scientists involved with the project expressed mixed emotions. Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at JPL, said, “While we're sad to have the close flybys behind us, we've placed the capstone on an incredible decade of investigating one of the most intriguing bodies in the solar system."  Linda Spilker, the mission's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, commented, “We bid a poignant goodbye to our close views of this amazing icy world…so much more remains to be done to answer that pivotal question, 'Does this tiny ocean world harbor life?'"  While the near passes are complete, the mission continues through September of 2017.

The Cassini spacecraft made its last close flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus on Dec. 19, after zipping by the satellite for 11 years

Just after noon Eastern today, Cassini will fly by the icy moon Enceladus for the final time. From 3,106 miles above the surface, the probe will measure the heat emanating from the moon’s liquid interior. This information is crucial to understanding the moon’s geological processes and its potential habitability. That measurement is possible because Enceladus, along with Saturn’s other moons, is in the middle of the planet’s years-long winter. In the absence of the sun’s heat, Cassini can get better measurements of the moon’s ambient energy. http://www.wired.com/2015/12/cassini-bids-its-final-farewell-to-saturns-moon-enceladus/ http://www.wochit.com This video was produced by YT Wochit News using http://wochit.com

Recent pictures of Saturn's moon Enceladus and subsequent analysis by planetary scientists say that the chemistry to support life might lie underneath the moon's surface

NASA recently released an image showing the icy rings of Saturn and its frozen moon Enceladus hanging in the distance above. The icy rings of Saturn stretch across the plane of an image recently released by NASA. Gathered by the Cassini spacecraft, the picture shows Saturn's frozen moon Enceladus hanging in the distance above.  And, though both mainly comprised of water ice, the rings and moon couldn't be more different.  NASA notes, "The small ring particles are too tiny to retain internal heat and have no way to get warm, so they are frozen and geologically dead. Enceladus, on the other hand, is subject to forces that heat its interior to this very day."  Recent work by the Cassini mission has led scientists to believe that Enceladus has a global ocean of liquid water under its surface, thus making it a prime candidate for further exploration and potential insight into the role water plays in the creation of life.

In the photo taken by the Cassini spacecraft Saturn's small, icy moon Enceladus looks like a sliver against the blackness of space. Charged with exploring Saturn and its moons, the probe snapped the shot when it flew about 630,000 miles from Enceladus in July 2015. Some scientists have long-thought that Enceladus might actually be one of the bodies in the solar system most likely to have the conditions to support microbial life. Researchers have recently confirmed that Enceladus actually plays host to a global ocean of liquid water beneath its icy shell, a possible place where life could thrive. http://feeds.mashable.com/~r/Mashable/~3/UYQ7wQQesQA/ http://www.wochit.com This video was produced by YT Wochit News using http://wochit.com

New images of Enceladus are being released from the Cassini spacecraft after a recent close flyby. New pictures of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus are beginning to trickle back to Earth.  The Cassini space probe recently made an extremely close pass over the geologically active moon—just 30 miles above the ice-covered surface.  The images show Enceladus's south pole, stark white, coated with long creases and the occasional pockmark-like indentation.  Linda Spilker, the mission's project scientist, said, "Cassini's stunning images are providing us a quick look at Enceladus from this ultra-close flyby, but some of the most exciting science is yet to come." Indeed it is. NASA will soon begin to pore over the data collected by Cassini's gas analyzer and dust detector.  Those high-tech gathering devices sampled Enceladus's plume of gas and icy particles as Cassini made its way over the Saturn's moon.  The particles should reveal information about the makeup of the global ocean beneath the icy surface—and any potential hydrothermal activity therein.  That ocean has made Enceladus a prime candidate for research into habitable environments in our solar system. Cassini's final flyby of Enceladus is scheduled for December 19th.