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Nature 445, 376-377 (25 January 2007) | doi:10.1038/445376b; Published online 24 January 2007

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Planetary science: Inside Enceladus

John Spencer1 & David Grinspoon2

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Chemical analysis of a plume emanating from near the south pole of Enceladus indicates that the interior of this saturnian moon is hot. Could it have been hot enough for complex organic molecules to be made?

Tiny, icy Enceladus is, at a mere 500 kilometres in diameter, Saturn's sixth-largest moon. But thanks to the discovery in July 2005, by NASA's Cassini Saturn orbiter, of a remarkable water-rich plume jetting from warm fractures near Enceladus's south pole1, 2, 3 (Fig. 1

  1. John Spencer is at the Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Boulder, Colorado 80302, USA.
    Email: spencer@boulder.swri.edu
  2. David Grinspoon is at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Boulevard, Denver, Colorado 80205, USA.
    Email: david.grinspoon@dmns.org

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