In the whole universe, there are countless planets, planets that are different from each other. For example, some of them have huge oceans like in the movie Interstellar, some have a wind speed that exceeds 20,000 miles per hour, and other planets rain glass sideways. Even though scientists have not found life beyond Earth yet, it might be possible that some planets in our solar system could support and develop life if they have the necessary components. As an example of this, there is a moon called Enceladus that could support life.
According to solarsystem.nasa.gov Enceladus is a moon of Saturn that orbits around Saturn at a speed of 28,265 mph. This moon is tiny compared to Earth. It has a size of 157 miles in diameter with a thin atmosphere that is surrounded mostly by water vapor and other gases. A clear thick layer of ice covers Enceladus’s crust. As a result of this, Enceladus is the most reflective body in our solar system. This moon has a super cold surface where snow is the only thing that is there, with a surface temperature of -201 C (-330 F).
Underneath that thick icy crust, there is an ocean, with a possible depth of about 30 to 40 kilometer deep. A Nasa voyager called Cassini discovered this ocean. Cassini also discovered plumes of salty water that erupted into space from the south polar side of Enceladus expelling organic chemicals and ice dust particles in space. This discovery led scientists to speculate that there could be hot spots and hydrothermal vents on the seafloor in Enceladus’s ocean. This means that there could be areas that support life in Enceladus. These discoveries are critical for the search for life in our universe.
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Energy is one of the most necessary components for life. Life forms need to utilize energy to do their daily activities. For example, humans need to eat food to get energy and do their everyday work. Even planets need a certain amount of energy and gravity to sustain an atmosphere and a warm temperature. Furthermore, Enceladus is an icy and small moon with a cold surface. So, how does Enceladus maintain its ocean in liquid form? Well, many scientists have researched and theorized about Enceladus having a very hot nucleus that warms up the moon from inside.
According to Charles Q. Choi a science reporter who has written for Scientific American, the Tidal heating process that Saturn’s gravitational force is applying on Enceladus core might be strong enough to heat rock maintaining the center of Enceladus’s warmth. Due to Enceladus small size, Saturn is slightly squashing Enceladus and deforming its shape with its massive gravitational force as the moon orbits around the planet. Because of this process, Enceladus continues heating up from the core and processing heat. However, this process is not enough to explain Enceladus’s hot core. Scientists also found ammonia on Enceladus’s vents. According to solarsystem.nasa.gov Ammonia is a component that serves as antifreeze.
This means that this component helps reduce the freezing point of the water; it also helps for outgassing which means less heat was required to power the geysers. That is why Enceladus’s ocean is in liquid form and not all frozen. This evidence also explains why Enceladus atmosphere is made mainly of water vapor and also by gases. This is possible because of the expulsion of water vapor and gases from the moon’s seafloor, the geysers and the pressure of the magnetic field of Saturn maintain the atmosphere of Enceladus. This is very important because even though Enceladus surface is too cold to sustain life. Underneath that icy crust on the seafloor, there could be a right temperature for life to develop on the hydrothermal vents similar to how it started on Earth.
Water is another essential component for life to exist. The first thing a planet has to have to be habitable is water. Enceladus might have an ocean underneath its crust. According to Solarsystem.nasa.gov, this was discovered by Cassini when the voyager observed how the moon has this slight wobble as its orbit around demonstrating that there is water in the moon causing that wobble and it might be salty. Scientists have found a portion of salts on the plumes of Enceladus. Probably the salt was made from rocks on the seafloor at high temperature that releases salt into the ocean.
Warm salty water is a potential energy source for life. The reason why salt is essential for life is that all animals on earth need to consume a certain amount of salt to survive. Salt contains sodium and chloride ion which are essential for life to grow. Furthermore, Water is a unique liquid it has some characteristic that no other liquid posses. Characteristics such as remaining liquid over a wide range of temperature, water is the only liquid which if it gets solid it would be less dense then the liquid form, and also electrical charge travel differently in water.
