Geysers in Space
June 9th, 2009 Posted in Geysers
Scientists have been searching for life on other planets ever since man first went into space and dreaming of it even before then. Their search still continues, but what scientists have found are geysers on other moons.
In 1989, the Voyager 2 discovered geysers on one of Neptune’s moons—Triton. The geysers on Triton are nitrogen geysers, which may be caused by solar heating or tidal forces inside the moon. The nitrogen gas bursts through the surface of semi-frozen nitrogen either because it has been heated or because the tidal forces force it through the surface. Incredibly, the eruptions on Triton can last for as long as a year, and the moon is streaked with material from eruptions that has been scattered downwind from the geysers.
Triton is not the only moon that contains geysers. In 2005, the spacecraft Cassini, which had orbited Saturn’s moons numerous times, photographed billows of steam from the moon Enceladus. Later, these scientists came to realize that the clouds of smoke came from geysers on the surface. The eruptions on Enceladus were composed of liquid water and scientists theorized that some heat source inside of the moon melted the water and pressure caused it to eventually burst through the surface. In fact, the scientists studying the moon discovered that the ring around Saturn most likely came from the eruptions from Enceladus because the material is the same as the eruptions.
Io, a moon of Jupiter, has eruptions of frozen water and gas through vents on its surface. These cold geysers on the moons are called “cryovolcanoes.”As of yet, scientists have not discovered geysers on other planets only the moons of various planets in the solar system, but that does not mean they have given up searching. It was not until twenty years ago that the first geysers were discovered on a moon, so there may be more on other moons as well as other planets in the solar system.
The presence of geysers on these moons may be a clue to finding life in outer space. Geysers are a place where microorganism grow and thrive—thermophiles and hyperthermophiles (a term for bacteria that can survive extreme temperatures) have been found in the extremely hot waters of geysers—so scientists are excited about finding them on these moons. In fact, the scientists studying the Cassini’s results say that this proof of liquid water beneath the surface of Enceladus indicates that this moon would be a good place to search for life.
One of the requisites for life as we know it is a warm source of water. Although Mars has captured the attention of many searching for life, scientists may switch their attention to this moon of Saturn. One of the scientists on the Cassini study says that now that they have found liquid water, they are searching for other signs of a habitat suitable for life—whether the geysers are stable, a chemical habitat to support life, etc. The discovery of life in geysers has led to revolutionary advancements in biotechnology, and now geysers may help scientists find life in space.