What is unusual about Enceladus and Titan?

What is unusual about Enceladus and Titan?

In an email to me, he explained the motivation for the mission: “Enceladus and Titan are two unique worlds in the Solar System not only in terms of their geology and evolution but also for their habitability. Enceladus conveniently has plumes jetting samples of its ocean into space.

What is special about Europa and Enceladus?

The tidal forces are about 1,000 times stronger than the Moon’s effect on Earth. The only other moon in the Solar System exhibiting water vapor plumes is Enceladus. The estimated eruption rate at Europa is about 7000 kg/s compared to about 200 kg/s for the plumes of Enceladus.

Was Enceladus a Titan?

John Keats mentions Enceladus among the Titans in his “Hyperion” (1818/1819). Porthos is likened to Enceladus when he is buried in a rock fall in The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas. In Herman Melville’s Pierre, the image of Enceladus appears multiple times; the protagonist identifies with Enceladus in a dream.

Why is Enceladus interesting to astrobiologists?

But Enceladus is small, and its reservoir of such chemicals is limited. One of the interesting things about Enceladus is that it is jetting water directly into space, where a spacecraft carrying the right instruments can dip through the plume and take samples.

What is the orbital resonance relationship between Titan and Hyperion?

The nearer moon Titan makes four circuits of Saturn for every three of Hyperion (i.e., their orbits are in a 4:3 dynamic resonance), and the two moons approach each other most closely when Hyperion is at the farthest point in its orbit.

Is Titan Terraformed?

To break it down, only Enceladus and Titan appear to be viable candidates for terraforming. However, in both cases, the process of turning them into habitable worlds where human beings could exist without the need for pressurized structures or protective suits would be a long and costly one.

Who is the giant in the lost hero?

Porphyrion
Enceladus appears on Piper’s dagger, Katoptris. Enceladus is 30-foot tall giant, only shorter than Polybotes, Alcyoneus, and Porphyrion.

Who killed Enceladus?

Zeus
He was killed, according to some, by Zeus, by a flash of lightning, and buried under mount Aetna (Virg. Aen. iii. 578); and, according to others, he was killed by the chariot of Athena (Paus.

Is the moon Enceladus habitable?

Cassini revealed the dramatic truth: Enceladus is an active moon that hides a global ocean of liquid salty water beneath its crust. They all point to the possibility of a habitable ocean world well beyond Earth’s habitable zone. Planetary scientists now have Enceladus to consider as a possible habitat for life.”

What do we believe gravitational resonances are responsible for in our solar system?

Such resonances seem to be very important features of the solar system. As bodies once trapped in a resonance may under certain circumstances remain trapped indefinitely, resonance structures stabilize the solar system for very long periods of time.

Could euroeuropa and Enceladus have been uncontaminated for eons?

Europa and Enceladus — and other potentially habitable worlds in the outer solar system, such as Saturn’s huge moon Titan — may well have remained uncontaminated for eons, providing ample opportunity for native life-forms to take root and evolve.

What is the environment like on Enceladus?

Enceladus’ environment is relatively clear of hard radiation. Nevertheless, Europa is the current first target for NASA, with the Europa Clipper due to launch in the early 2020s and a Europa lander to follow a few years later.

Will Enceladus ever hit Earth?

In the simulations, a tiny percentage of the particles ended up hitting Enceladus over the course of 4.5 billion years — just 0.0000002\% to 0.0000004\% of the number that impacted Earth. The numbers were about 100 times higher for Europa; that moon got 0.00004\% to 0.00007\% of Earth’s particle share.

What did Cassini find on Enceladus?

Cassini discovered that geyser-like jets spew water vapor and ice particles from an underground ocean beneath the icy crust of Enceladus. With its global ocean, unique chemistry and internal heat, Enceladus has become a promising lead in our search for worlds where life could exist.