Enceladus is a satellite of Saturn, characterized by a regular spherical shape. It is the largest among domestic
The satellite is covered with a continuous layer of ice. For a long time it was believed that it was frozen to the ground and is a lifeless ice ball.
The ocean on Enceladus is almost unlike Earth's.Earth's oceans are shallow, about 3.6 km, it does not completely cover our planet and has different temperatures. And his ocean, apparently, completely covers the globe: its depth is at least 30 km and it cools in the upper part, near the ice shell, and is heated below by heat from the core.
However, the oceans of Enceladus and Earth also have something in common:they are salty. And as the new work shows, fluctuations in salinity can serve as driving forces for water circulation both on Enceladus and on Earth. In other words, strong currents occur in both places.
It is currently unclear if there is life on Enceladus.It is very far from the Sun, but due to internal geothermal heating, it can have chemosynthetic food webs, similar to those found around hydrothermal vents in the deep dark oceans of the Earth. If life lurks in the oceans of Enceladus, the team's findings may help us figure out where to find it.
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