Originally published September 23 2005
Scientists seek explanation for anomalous "hot spot" on one of Saturn's moons
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons say there is a "hot spot" located at the south pole of Enceladus (one of Saturn's moons) that should not be there, and they are seeking an explanation for the strange phenomenon, Reuters reports.
There is a hot spot on one of Saturn's moons which should not be there and has yet to be explained, scientists said on Tuesday.
It is located at the south pole of Enceladus, a moon with a diameter of just 500 km (310 miles) which orbits Saturn at a distance of around 238,000 km.
This suggests that the heat at Enceladus' southern pole is generated from within, said scientists from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons.
Spencer, of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado, the United States, is one of a group of scientists examining data sent back to earth from the Cassini spacecraft, which was launched in 1997 to examine Saturn.
The scientists expected to find that the temperature was around 80 degrees Kelvin (-193 degrees Celsius, -316 degrees Fahrenheit) at its hottest point, which they assumed would be near the equator.
Instead, they found that the heat was concentrated at the south pole, where the temperature hit 91 degrees Kelvin near a series of fissures, or "tiger stripes" on the moon's surface.
"It is an extremely conspicuous hot region," Spencer told a news conference.
The first is that the heat comes from decaying radioactive material below the moon's surface and the second is that it is caused by gravitational tides.
"We don't have anything we could call a complete hypothesis yet," said Torrence Johnson from NASA, which is working on the project alongside the European and Italian space agencies.
The team says the hot spot suggests there might be volcanoes and geysers on Enceladus.
The Cassini spacecraft has been sending spectacular images back from Saturn, its rings and its moons since last year, when it reached the planet.
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