Saturn’s moon. A surprising discovery under a thick layer of Enceladus ice

This discovery could turn out to be a real cosmic sensation. Enceladus is Saturn’s sixth largest ice moon. The Cassini probe discovered methane of “unknown origin” and plumes of water on it in 2005. Now British and French scientists say they have solved their mystery. The methane on Saturn’s moon and the spectacular geysers captured by the Cassini probe may be caused not by geophysical processes but by extraterrestrial microorganisms. Experts from the University of Arizona and the University of PSL (Sciences & Lettres) in Paris have maddened this by constructing special mathematical models that calculate the probabilities of different scenarios. The results of the scientists’ research do not directly suggest that there is extraterrestrial life on Enceladus, but are consistent with analyzes of similar microbial activity in hydrothermal holes in Earth’s oceans. Methanogenic bacteria could be responsible for gas formation in the geysers of Saturn’s moon. A direct search for microbes on Enceladus is …

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