# Water Eruption on Saturn Moon **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728 "2006-03-09T19:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/1 "2006-03-09T19:43:49Z")
And it’s not one of the moons you’d think, either. It’s Enceladus. (Roman God of salad and fresh greens?) [Pretty exciting stuff!](http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/03/09/enceladus.water.ap/index.html) But scientists say Cassini shows liquid water is erupting from geysers on the moon’s surface. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/2 "2006-03-09T20:14:15Z")
I thought Enceladus was the moon you’d expect to have water volcanoes on. Isn’t it supposed to be a giant drop of water with a skin of ice? Using the Italianate Latin pronunciation which used to be used by the Catholic Church, I’d say “Enceladus” was named for the god of Mexican cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/3 "2006-03-09T20:17:35Z")
I absolutely love this stuff. I’m dead serious (ha ha) when I say that the only thing that really depresses me about my own mortality is that I won’t be around to witness the rest of humanity’s space explorations. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/4 "2006-03-10T05:24:45Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I thought Enceladus was the moon you’d expect to have water volcanoes on. Isn’t it supposed to be a giant drop of water with a skin of ice? It seems like this actually was quite a surprise. I’m not sure why. Perhaps they thought it was all frozen. ---
**Author:** ![Gerome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Gerome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gerome)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/5 "2006-03-10T12:33:26Z")
I think it’s surprising because the water is meant to be very close to the surface, rather than buried under a hundred kilometres of solid ice, as on Europa. > **[Liquid Water Might Be On Enceladus - Universe Today](https://www.universetoday.com/8026/liquid-water-might-be-on-enceladus/?932006)** > > Plumes of icy material extend above the polar region of Enceladus. Image credit: NASA/JPL/SSI Click to enlarge Scientists have discovered geysers of liquid water streaming off Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, like a colder version of Yellowstone Hot... ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/6 "2006-03-10T13:56:15Z")
Gerome’s called it. Not only that, but because the water is actually spewing into space, this means that it is practical to put together a mission to orbit Enceladus and examine the water for biological signs. With Europa, on the other hand, with its sea so far below the surface, we don’t yet have the technology to GET to that water to examine it for life. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/7 "2006-03-10T15:55:10Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > Gerome’s called it. Not only that, but because the water is actually spewing into space, this means that it is practical to put together a mission to orbit Enceladus and examine the water for biological signs. With Europa, on the other hand, with its sea so far below the surface, we don’t yet have the technology to GET to that water to examine it for life. Where’s that monolith when we need it? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/8 "2006-03-10T16:28:15Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Where’s that monolith when we need it? If it helps, we could all sing the Monolith Song. Everybody join in. 1, 2, 3- AuuuhuuuuuuuuuOOOOOOOOoooooooooowauuuuOOOOOOOoooooooooo… ---
**Author:** ![Doom\_Slinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Doom\_Slinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doom_Slinger)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/9 "2006-03-10T17:22:58Z")
I’m just glad it wasn’t a water eruption from Uranus. ::d&r:: You know you were thinking it too… ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-eruption-on-saturn-moon/347728/10 "2006-03-10T17:46:46Z")
Not until you mentioned it. :dubious: