LONDON, April 20 (UPI) -- One of Saturn's tiny moons is linked to the planet by powerful electrical currents of electrons that flow back and forth between the two, U.K. scientists say.
An instrument aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft that was developed and built by researchers at University College London made the electron beam discovery, a university release said Wednesday.
Cassini has detected jets of gas and icy grains emanating from the south pole of Enceladus that become electrically charged and form an ionosphere. The motion of Enceladus and its ionosphere through the magnetic field that surrounds Saturn acts like a generator, setting up the newly discovered current system, researchers said.
Scientists already knew the giant planet Jupiter is linked to three of its moons by similar charged current systems that form glowing spots, or auroras, in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. The findings on Enceladus show the Saturnian system displays the same phenomenon.
"This now looks like a universal process -- Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanic object in the solar system, and produces a bright spot in Jupiter's aurora," UCL researcher Andrew Coates said. "Now, we see the same thing at Saturn -- the variable and majestic water-rich Enceladus plumes, probably driven by cryovolcanism, cause electron beams which create a significant spot in Saturn's aurora too."
