Sources of Chemical Species in Enceladus’ Plumes

Details Sources of Chemical Species in Enceladus’ Plumes Sources of Chemical Species in Enceladus’ Plumes

Sep 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.6403m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #64.03

Other

Scientific paper

The combined observations of Saturn's moon Enceladus by the Cassini CAPS, INMS and UVIS instruments detected water vapor geysers in which were present molecular nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2), ammonia (NH3), methane (CH4), propane (C3H8), acetylene (C2H2), H2CO, C2H6, C3H6, and other species, together with the decomposition products of water (see Waite et al., 2006, Science 311, 1419; Waite et al., 2009, EOS Trans. AGU 90(22) P32A-02). In addition the CDA instrument reports various salts of sodium (Postberg et al, Nature 459, 1098). We proposed that the presence of N2 in the plume indicates thermal decomposition of ammonia, and hence high temperatures in the interior of the moon (e.g., 500 to 800 K)(Matson et al., 2007, Icarus 187, 569). (The predicted presence of ammonia has now been confirmed by the recent observations.) Other possibilities include the earlier processing of materials in planetesimals before their incorporation in Enceladus. Such a hot environment is also suitable for the production of methane (CH4) from carbon monoxide (CO), or carbon dioxide (CO2). The presence of C2H2 and C3H8 strongly suggests that catalytic reactions took place within a hot environment. The internal environment of Enceladus is inferred to be or have been favorable for aqueous, catalytic chemistry that permits the synthesis of many complex organic compounds. This work has been conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Copyright 2009 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Sources of Chemical Species in Enceladus’ Plumes does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Sources of Chemical Species in Enceladus’ Plumes, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Sources of Chemical Species in Enceladus’ Plumes will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1334190