Saturn moon 'once had ocean' (BBC) {Tethys}

[eppur_se_muova]

By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News, Houston

One of Saturn's moons may once have harboured a liquid ocean beneath its icy surface, scientists have told a major conference in Houston, Texas.

Tethys is a mid-sized satellite with a density close to that of pure ice.

But a large valley system visible today must have formed when the crust was being heated and under great strain.

The team thinks that tidal heating, followed by cooling which froze Tethys' ocean, could have formed the giant Ithaca Chasma rift.

Details were presented here at the 39th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
***
more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7297408.stm

Jeez ... all they had to do was look at the name ...

Tethys. Greek Mythology. A Titaness and sea goddess who was both sister and wife of Oceanus.

[Lasher]

1. And Jupiter's Europa probably still has a liquid ocean.

This is not a new theory, just wanted to throw that in.

[TZ]

2. Titan has one as well

Doesn't it?

[Lasher]

3. Stable bodies of surface liquid have been confirmed on Titan

But they are comprised of liquid hydrocarbon, not water. But Titan is primarily composed of water ice and rocky material so I guess the presence of liquid water is possible.

[TechBear_Seattle]

5. "Liquid hydrocarbon" So basically...

Oceans of fat. Rather like Thanksgiving at my mother's house. :toast:

[Lasher]

6. Green cheese on Earth's moon, lakes of turkey & gravy on Titan.

The solar system is a smorgasboard!

The liquid hydrocarbons are possibly like crude oil, which raises a question: are fossil fuels really derived from organic materials?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=56480

[TechBear_Seattle]

7. There's organic and then there is organic

In chemistry, "organic" means any compounds based on the bond between hydrogen and carbon. See Wikipedia article on Organic Chemistry. Most derivatives from once living organisms are "organic," not because they come from once living organism or because they were made without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, but because life (as we know it) is based almost entirely on compounds based on the bond between hydrogen and carbon.

And please: you don't really expect me to even click on a link to the World Nut Daily, do you?

[Lasher]

9. Go ahead, hit the link. There's a real purty picture of Titan.

True, I wasn't saying that Titan's hydrocarbons were derived from once-living material. Frankly I was saying just the opposite. And so, this reminds us of those who challenge conventional wisdom that crude oil and other 'fossil fuels' have origin exclusively in ancient plant and animal materials.

[eppur_se_muova]

11. More like LNG, plus a little lighter fluid. nt

[Outraged As Usual]

4. More than moons!!

There are massive..beyond massive rectangular craft that are spewing plasma in the rings of Saturn. There is a NASA scientist who wrote a book called " The Ringmakers of Saturn " and I suggest you find it and read it. I saw a review and am trying to get the full copy now...but photos taken by NASA show ships, some 30,000 km's in length, that move around the rings and exhibit all the signs of alien craft.

Also, the moons of Mars have some anomalies that cannot be explained away easily. The site called ATS ( Above Top Secret ) has detailed threads and photos about this, as well as lot of great commentary..worth a look. One moon, Iptaeus, has a ridge around it that is much like a welders bead running around the middle, and no other body shows this feature..fascinating stuff!!

[semillama]

8. Yes, thanks for playing. n/t

[mainegreen]

10. Well sure..

where else do you think all the missing unicorns went?

[FreepFryer]

12. There also appears to be liquid water on Enceladus (another Saturnian moon):

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/09mar_enceladus.htm