Saturn's Watery Moon

Four years ago, astronomers discovered water jets blasting out of fractures on the surface of Saturn's moon, Enceladus. The ice water jets shoot thousands of miles into space with some of the ice grains and water vapor ending up in Saturn's outermost ring.

About a year ago, it was discovered that these jets reach supersonic speeds-- about 650 to 1,100 miles per hour, a figure which suggests a large body of water beneath Enceladus' icy surface.

Most recently, sodium salts were found in Saturn's outermost ring. Its chemical composition matched what would occur if liquid water were in contact with a rocky core, indicating that there is most likely an ocean underneath the frozen surface of Enceladus.

Image: "Enceladus and Saturn" by TopTechWriter.US on Flickr courtesy of Creative Commons Licensing.