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Science Quickly

Enceladus Might Be a Methane Hotspot

Science Quickly

Scientific American

Science

4.2639 Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2015

⏱️ 2 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft spotted a surprising amount of methane erupting from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, suggesting it harbors more methane than we thought. Clara Moskowitz reports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Understanding the human body is a team effort. That's where the Yachtel group comes in.

0:05.8

Researchers at Yachtolt have been delving into the secrets of probiotics for 90 years.

0:11.0

Yacold also partners with nature portfolio to advance gut microbiome science through the global grants for gut health, an investigator-led research program.

0:19.6

To learn more about Yachtolt, visit yawcult.co.j.p.

0:23.9

That's y-A-K-U-L-T dot-C-O-J-P.

0:28.4

When it comes to a guide for your gut, count on Yacolt.

0:33.9

This is Scientific Americans' 60-second science.

0:37.6

I'm Clara Moskowitz. Got a minute?

0:40.6

Enceladus. It's one of Saturn's moons.

0:43.6

It's one of the strangest places in the solar system.

0:46.6

It's also one of the most likely places to host extraterrestrial life.

0:51.0

Powerful plumes of water vapor erupt from its poles,

0:55.6

which proves that a liquid water ocean lies hidden beneath its icy surface. And a new analysis suggests that this buried

1:01.4

ocean has striking similarities to the deep oceans here on Earth, at least when it comes

1:06.2

to methane. The study is in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. NASA's Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn recently spotted a surprising amount of methane in the geysers.

1:16.6

The simple hydrocarbon compound was expected to exist on Enceladus, but to mostly stay trapped in the moon's underground ocean by the high pressure there.

1:25.6

The abundance of methane in Enceladus' plumes, however,

1:29.3

means that the moon might actively produce more methane than had been thought.

1:33.3

One explanation for the methane levels is that the compound forms through geological processes

1:38.3

at the boundary where Enceladus' core meets the water.

1:41.3

The same thing happens in Earth's hydrothermal vents,

1:45.2

a hotspot for life. Another explanation is that methane locked in primordial ice gets

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