Posted Apr 01, 2008 at 06:22AM by Ryan A. Listed in: Astronomy, NASA, Celestial Bodies, Space Missions Tags: NASA, Saturn, crystals, methane, organic, Cassini
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NASA reveals 'tiger stripes' image of Saturn's moon Enceladus - Image 1It was just a couple of weeks ago when we reported that spacecraft Cassini will be investigating the icy plumes earlier found on Saturn's moon called Enceladus.

NASA, today, has furnished an image taken by the said spacecraft. The curiosity was prompted when astronomers discovered that Enceladus was spewing fountains of gas and icy crystals through the cracks on its surfaced.

These things were dubbed as tiger stripes due to their appearance. After studying the said tiger stripes, astronomers began to have the fascination and the idea that life could exist on Saturn's moon. Here's the explanation provided by NASA:


Last month, Cassini dove through some of these plumes and determined that they contained water vapor laced with small amounts of methane as well as simple and complex organic molecules.


Surprisingly, the plumes of Enceladus appear similar in make-up to many comets. What's more, the temperature and density of the plumes indicate they might have originated from a warmer source - possibly a liquid source - beneath the surface.


NASA added that Cassini is being planned for nine more flybys to give all of us a better picture and understanding of the moon Enceladus.

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