[meteorite-list] Nasa Cassini: Enceladus' core 'like a primitive meteorite that can host alien life forms'

From: Shawn Alan <shawnalan_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2015 04:20:59 -0700
Message-ID: <20151028042059.e8713c95af9984a493c5db01816d4c10.89ecd77b4a.wbe_at_email22.secureserver.net>

Hello Listers

I wonder if I have a meteorite from Enceladus?

Shawn Alan
IMCA 1633
ebay store http://www.ebay.com/sch/imca1633ny/m.html
Website http://meteoritefalls.com


Nasa Cassini: Enceladus' core 'like a primitive meteorite that can host
alien life forms'

By Hannah Osborne | International Business Times

The core of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus appears to have the conditions
necessary for alien life to form beneath the surface, scientists have
said. Researchers conducting laboratory experiments mimicking reactions
known to take place on Enceladus have said the moon's core is similar to
a primitive meteorite.

Yasuhito Sekine and colleagues from the University of Tokyo simulated
the generation of tiny silica-rich particles that are known to originate
from inside Enceladus's crust. These particles were detected in plumes
of ice and suggested water-rock interactions are taking place deep
inside the moon.

Publishing their findings in the journal Nature Communications, the
authors note it has long been suggested Enceladus has a subsurface
ocean. The discovery of silica nanoparticles show there are hydrothermal
reactions taking place at the interior of the moon.

To find out more about these reactions, the team carried out laboratory
experiments to reconstruct the conditions of the reactions. Their
findings showed that to form silica particles, the moon's core had to be
similar to that of carbonaceous chondrites - some of the most primitive
known meteorites.

The team experimented with gasses similar to those seen in plumes coming
from Enceladus. They were able to create liquids at the conditions found
on the moon and say they are consistent with the formation of the
minerals serpentine and sapnite ? both of which are found on primitive
meteorites.

If Enceladus' core does have this predicted composition, it would mean
the moon formed very shortly after the formation of the solar system, or
that this activity was triggered by a recent heating event. Furthermore,
the scientists say that the reaction conditions would suggest hydrogen
production is taking place ? a finding that would mean there is energy
for life to form beneath the icy surface.

"Under the required conditions, hydrogen production would proceed
efficiently, which could provide chemical energy for chemoautotrophic
life," they wrote.

Source:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nasa-cassini-enceladus-core-primitive-160000717.html#41vuihk
Received on Wed 28 Oct 2015 07:20:59 AM PDT