Saturn squeezes a moon, creates water jets

GREENBELT, Md., March 20 (UPI) -- NASA scientists say they've confirmed jets of water from Saturn's moon Enceladus are linked to stretching and stressing of its surface by the ringed planet.

Analyzing images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, they've determined the pull of Saturn's gravity deforms the surface of Enceladus in its south polar region, which is crisscrossed by fissures dubbed "tiger stripes" that spew out water vapor and organic particles.

Terry Hurford at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said astronomers have long thought tidal pulls from Saturn's gravity could explain the existence of the jets but had not been able to correlate specific jets with calculated stresses until now.

The Cassini data shows the greatest stresses pulling apart the tiger stripes occurred right after Enceladus made its closest approach to Saturn in its orbit.

"This new work gives scientists insight into the mechanics of these picturesque jets at Enceladus and shows that Saturn really stresses Enceladus," Hurford said.

The researchers say the study suggests a large reservoir of liquid water, either a global or local ocean, would allow Enceladus to flex enough to deform the surface, and that the process would control the timing of the jet eruptions.