Detecting water on Saturn moon

Image released by NASA shows Saturn's moon surface Enceladus seen from Cassini probe.Photo: AP

US Space Agency (NASA) yesterday (10-3) announced that Cassini probe has detected geysers on one of Saturn's moons, increasing hope for the possibility of life on the planets other than Earth.

Shocking images taken by Cassini probes from Saturn's moon Enceladus show that liquid water can form outside the Earth.

Most scientists agree that the components needed for life include liquid water and a stable heat source. However, evidence of large quantities of liquid water on extraterrestrial objects is often indirect and based on reasoning, based on analysis of rocks and other data by scientists.

Scientists say the Cassini probe recently captured high-resolution images that showed the southern pole and ice fragments of the moon Enceladus. These images do not show water in liquid form but scientists believe that ice and steam must be formed from underground reservoirs.

Torrence Johnson, NASA's Cassini ship scientist, says these images have for the first time provided scientists with evidence of liquid water on the surface of an entity other than Earth.

From this discovery, some scientists suggest that Enceladus should be added to the list of few planets in the Solar System that can have life outside of Earth. This life can be bacteria or primitive organism that can survive in extremely harsh conditions.

Saturn is about 1.3 billion km from Earth. Saturn's Enceladus moon, 502 km in diameter, is the brightest object in the Solar System. According to scientists, this moon has been very positively transformed in its geography and its South Pole is unusually warming (currently -1830C, 200C higher than the surrounding area).

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