Liquid water on Enceladus from observations of ammonia and 40Ar in the plume

J. H. Waite, W. S. Lewis (), B. A. Magee, J. I. Lunine, W. B. McKinnon, C. R. Glein, O. Mousis, D. T. Young, T. Brockwell, J. Westlake, M.-J. Nguyen, B. D. Teolis, H. B. Niemann, R. L. McNutt, M. Perry and W.-H. Ip
Additional contact information
J. H. Waite: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
W. S. Lewis: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
B. A. Magee: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
J. I. Lunine: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
W. B. McKinnon: Washington University, St Louis, Missouri 63130, USA
C. R. Glein: School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
O. Mousis: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
D. T. Young: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
T. Brockwell: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
J. Westlake: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
M.-J. Nguyen: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
B. D. Teolis: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
H. B. Niemann: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
R. L. McNutt: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland 20723, USA
M. Perry: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland 20723, USA
W.-H. Ip: Institutes of Astronomy and Space Science, National Central University

Nature, 2009, vol. 460, issue 7254, 487-490

Abstract: Messages from Enceladus Since Cassini spacecraft images revealed plumes of water vapour and ice particles erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus in 2006, the search for the water source has been on. Possibilities include liquid water under the ice shell and ice that is subject to heating. The chemical composition of the jets can give clues as to their source. The 9 October 2008 Cassini fly-by provides a data set ideal for the purpose — mass spectrometry with the best signal-to-noise ratio so far obtained, sufficient to allow the identification of chemicals present in trace amounts. Waite et al. use these data to reveal the presence of ammonia in the plume, strong evidence for the existence of at least some liquid water. The overall composition of the plume suggests that it arises from both a liquid reservoir (or ice derived from one) and from the degassing of ice containing volatile materials.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08153

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